Man charged with hitting, killing bicyclist in Old Irving Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been arrested charged with striking and killing a bicyclist in the Old Irving Park neighborhood this week.
Phil Pinkawa, 57, of the 2900 block of North Troy Street, was arrested at his home on Thursday. He was identified as the driver who struck Nick Parlingayan, 22, while Parlingayan was biking in the 3800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday.
Parlingayan's death broke the heart of his stepfather Ariel Javier.
"I miss my son. he was dear to me, and to have him die in this tragedy, so young, I just want people to understand what I'm going through," Javier said.
Javier said Parlingayan was riding his bike to the store to pick up the next day's breakfast when a driver hit him and took off.
"I just want the person to either give up or turn themselves in out of conscience. That's how I feel, just so that we can have some kind of closure to our family," Javier said.
People living in the area told us off camera they've long been concerned about the bike lanes in this area--from a lack of barriers to faded paint.
Now some are worried the road construction on the next block south might be causing another hazard. We watched car after car forced to drive into the bike lane because the road narrows in the area.
Pinkawa is due in Central Bond Court on Saturday.