Driver ran red and killed e-moto rider Juan Martin Marquez, at the same intersection where pedestrian Maria Ochoa was fatally struck last year

Correction 9/19/26, 4:30 PM: Based on the initial Chicago Police Department report, I mistakenly assumed that both motorists in last Monday’s crash were traveling on Archer Avenue in opposite directions with a green, when the sedan driver tried to turn onto Laramie Avenue. However, the Illinois Traffic Crash Report states that the sedan driver was turning from Laramie onto Archer, when the pickup driver ran a red on Archer and struck e-moto rider Juan Martin Marquez and the sedan. I apologize for the error and have edited the article accordingly. – John Greenfield

Tragically, a hit-and-run pickup driver who blew a red light fatally struck “e-moto” rider Juan Martin Marquez, 54, on Monday morning at Archer and Laramie avenues in Garfield Ridge. Compounding the tragedy, last year at the same intersection, a turning SUV driver who failed to yield caused the death of pedestrian Maria Ochoa, 84.

According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, on Monday, September 14, around 5:15 a.m., on the 5600 block of South Archer, the driver of a black sedan attempted to make a turn at the intersection when the driver of a blue pickup proceeded through the intersection. At this location, Archer is a four-lane “stroad,” which makes it easy to speed.

Police said the pickup driver struck Marquez, who was riding an “electronic bike,” and the sedan. The pickup driver fled from the crash on foot.

While multiple news reports described his vehicle as an “e-bike,” images of the crash aftermath indicate that it was actually an electric motorcycle or “e-moto” These vehicles are defined by Illinois law as high-speed electric cycles that do not have to be pedaled, with a motor of more than 750 watts.

According to CPD, Marquez was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition. On Monday afternoon, a source reported to Streetsblog that the victim was in a coma. He was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Marquez’s obituary states that he is survived by his wife, four children, and eight grandchildren. In Spanish it says, “His warmth, sense of humor, and unconditional love left an indelible mark on all of us.”

This afternoon, Police News Affairs said they had no updates on the Marquez case.

Update 9/19/26, 4 PM: Today Police News Affairs said there are still no updates on the case.

The Illinois Traffic Crash report for the case, which Streetsblog acquired today, provides more details about what reportedly happened. Its narrative states that the 39-year-old male driver of the sedan, a 2015 Dodge Charger, was stopped at the northbound light at Laramie/Archer. He told responding officers that after his light turned green, he entered the intersection while attempting to turn left onto southwest-bound Archer.

The sedan driver told police that the southwest-bound pickup driver, described on the crash report as a 30-year-old man in a 2027 Ford F150, ran his red light. The pickup driver struck Marquez, who was riding south on Laramie with a green signal, as well as the sedan. The pickup driver then swerved across Archer and struck a light pole in front of the Wendy’s at the southwest corner. He then fled the scene on foot before police arrived.

The crash report says the restaurant provided security camera footage. The report confirms that Marquez’s vehicle was an e-moto, identifying it as a YOULON Z10 electric motorcycle with a 2000 watt battery.

Sadly, great-grandmother Maria Ochoa, 84, was killed in a crash last year at Archer/Laramie that also involved a collision between a turning motorist and one who was traveling through the intersection. According to CPD, on Saturday, May 24, around 5:30 p.m., Ochoa was walking at the intersection when an SUV driver tried to make a turn, failed to yield to oncoming traffic, and was hit by a sedan driver. The SUV then struck Ochoa, who later died.

Ochoa’s family held a vigil after the crash, asking the City to improve infrastructure and enforcement to help prevent others from experiencing similar heartache, according to a Sun-Times report. Her son Alberto Ochoa called on officials to “Please do something for this community if you want to remember my mom.” Unfortunately, it appears little or nothing was done to improve safety at Archer/Laramie between Maria Ochoa’s death and Marquez’s passing.

An AARP-endorsed “four-to-three conversion” street redesign with turn lanes on Archer, would calm traffic and give motorists a safer place to wait for a gap in oncoming traffic before turning. That’s exactly what has been done on Archer Avenue between 47th Street and Western Avenue in nearby Brighton Park as part of a Complete Streets project that also includes safety upgrades for walking, biking, and transit.

Frustratingly, for nearly six months, starting last December, organized protesters, apparently motivated by politics, demonstrated against that traffic safety project every week near local Ald. Julia Ramirez’s (12th) office. But if such a redesign had been done near Archer and Laramie, making it more difficult to speed on Archer and safer to make turns from the avenue, Juan Martin Marquez and Maria Ochoa might still be alive.

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