Hit-and-run sends driver into parked van, building on Chicago's Northwest Side
CHICAGO (CBS) --A hit-and-run crash sent a sport-utility vehicle plowing into a parked van and slamming into the side of an apartment building in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood Friday afternoon.
Police said at 12:58 p.m., an unknown person was driving an SUV west on Wellington Avenue at Laramie Avenue, while another driver—a 52-year-old woman—was behind the wheel of a black Honda SUV headed south on Laramie Avenue.
The first driver hit the second, and the black Honda SUV lost control, struck a parked Dodge van, and then plowed right into the apartment building at 2959 N. Laramie Ave. The Honda SUV ended up lodged inside a basement unit in the building.
A worker, Joe, was inside at the time and was quite startled.
"It's like a meteor hit. It's amazing. And then you just run into the other room, and hear hissing, and seeing, and you didn't realize you had an underground parking garage," said Joe.
Daniel, who lives in the building, was also inside at the time.
"We were upstairs watching TV, and we just heard a loud bang, so we just came outside to see what had happened, see the car down in the basement—kind of messed up," Daniel said.
The driver of the Honda was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a neck injury. She was reported in fair condition.
The first driver who hit the Honda fled the scene, police said.
No other injuries were reported, and no citations have been issued.
CBS News Chicago has learned the garden unit that was struck was under renovation—and no one is currently living there.
Information from the Chicago Department of Buildings was not immediately available.