4 years after fatal hit-and-run, elderly victim's daughter not giving up hope of finding driver
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four years since a hit-and-run driver killed a 75-year-old man in the Austin neighborhood, his daughter hasn't given up on the case. Neither have Cook County Crimestoppers, who went door-to-door on Saturday near the site of the crash, searching for answers.
Andrew Wells Jr. was a father of six.
"He was retired. He was 75 years old. Everyone knew my dad," said his daughter, Jeannie Wells.
Jeannie won't ever forget the day of Jan. 11, 2021, a cold but sunny day.
"It was like a normal day for me. I got up to go out to run an errand," she said.
She remembers the phone call with her dad.
"He told me that he was going out to pay his life insurance," she said.
And she remembers the phone call from her brother.
"He told me that I needed to get to the county hospital, because someone had hit my dad," she said.
Andrew was walking home in the Austin neighborhood on North Laramie Avenue near West Thomas Street. Police have said a driver hit another car, lost control, and struck Andrew while he was in the crosswalk.
"They were coming down the wrong way. That's why my dad never knew what hit him, and they just left my dad there to die," his daughter said.
Jeannie said nothing can replace a father's love.
"His love was unchanging, unconditional. He was just a great man; humble, hardworking and just had the love of God in him," she said.
After four years, neighbors in Austin said they still recognize Andrew's face.
"I seen him before around," one woman said.
Another neighbor said he still has Andrew's picture on his wall.
His daughter hopes this is the year someone has the courage to talk about what happened.
"Someone knows who killed my dad," she said.
Cook County Crimestoppers is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
