Hit-and-Run Crashes

The Chicago Police Department says they’ve been unable to locate a motorist who struck and injured a 62-year-old woman outside the Garfield Park Conservatory in March, and then fled the scene.

45-year-old Jessie Rosales was struck and killed in the North Lawndale neighborhood by a motorist who fled the scene last Friday, according to police.

Family and friends are remembering Francisco “Frank” Cruz, fatally struck on his bike by a hit-and-run van driver in West Garfield Park Wednesday night, as someone who went out of his way to help others. Meanwhile, police have yet to apprehend the motorist, despite the fact that the van bore the name and phone number of a local realty company.

Last week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report showing that all traffic fatalities increased significantly on U.S. roads from 2014 to 2015, by 7.7 percent to reach 35,200, the worst death toll since the 2008 economic crash. Streetsblog USA's Angie Schmitt pointed out that, while Americans drove 3.5 percent more during this period, that's "not enough to explain the rising death toll." U.S. pedestrian and bike fatalities rose even more during that period, by 10 and 15 percent, respectively.

The Chicago Police Department hasn’t yet apprehended the driver who fatally struck a 73-year-old woman in January and fled the scene.

An 80-year-old man died early last Thursday from injuries sustained almost two months ago, when he was struck by a motorist who fled the scene.

[The Chicago Reader recently launched a weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column after it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets on Thursdays.]

A hit-and-run driver who fatally struck a pregnant woman has been charged with a felony count of aggravated DUI and a felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

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