Mother Pleads With Driver To Surrender After Land Surveyor Was Killed On The Job In Hit-And-Run In Roseland
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A mother issued a desperate plea Monday for the driver who hit and killed her son to come forward.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, the victim was just doing his job at the time.
The pain of losing a child is never easy.
"I feel like a bad dream," said Toi-Ann Bailey. "I just want to wake up."
She struggles knowing the life of her son, Nicholas Bailey, ended so dreadfully.
"Why? Why did you come by my son?" Toi-Ann Bailey said. "He was working. You know, why did you do this?"
Nicholas Bailey worked as a land surveyor and enjoyed his job.
"He loves outdoors. He loved doing stuff – going out in the trench and whatever he has to do – he loved it," Toi-Ann Bailey said.
On the afternoon of Thursday, April 15, Bailey and a coworker were doing their job near the tracks at 114th Street and Wentworth Avenue in Roseland – when police said a driver hit Bailey and never stopped.
"They did a lot of damage to my son," Toi-Ann Bailey said.
Emergency crews rushed Nicholas Bailey to the hospital. His mother arrived in enough time to say goodbye.
"He just held my hand – just held my hand, and I was praying," Toi-Ann Bailey said. "I was praying really hard, asking his father to just keep him here."
Bailey's death comes at an especially difficult time for the family. Nicholas Bailey's father passed away less than a month ago, and now the only man left in the family is gone too.
"He stepped up," Toi-Ann Bailey said. "He's always been stepping up, taking care of us."
Chicago Police were able to get an image of the actual hit-and-run minivan, described as a green 2002 Nissan Quest.
Now, Bailey's mother wants the person driving to step up. She believes the homicide should be weighing on the driver.
"Just turn yourself in - even if it was an accident," she said. "Just turn yourself in so we can have peace, you know? Because my son had a lot of stuff he wanted to do."
Bailey was killed just weeks before his 31st birthday. Instead this week, the family prepares to bury him.
Police said the minivan likely has severe front-end damage from the hit-and-run.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Major Accident Investigation Unit at (312) 745-4521.