Car hits, kills 93-year-old woman crossing street in South Austin
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 93-year-old woman was struck and killed by a car in a hit-and-run in the South Austin neighborhood Thursday.
At 12:23 p.m., the woman was crossing the street at the crosswalk in the 300 block of South Laramie Avenue at Gladys Avenue – across from a U.S. Post Office.
A Porsche Cayenne then ran a stop sign on Laramie Avenue at Gladys Avenue. The driver of the Porsche tore around a stopped vehicle, crossed into the bicycle lane and through the crosswalk – and struck the woman, police said.
The woman was thrown into the air when she was struck, police said.
After the crash, what appeared to be the woman's shoe was left on the street.
The driver of the Porsche kept going – driving off on Jackson Boulevard.
The woman was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Late Thursday, police provided a surveillance image of the Porsche and specified its Illinois license plate as CZ60617.
CBS 2's Marissa Perlman spoke Thursday night with a friend of the victim's. Thelma Ramsey said the victim lived nearby in a building on Laramie Avenue.
"I just so sorry that it happened," Ramsey said. "My heart is just aching."
Ramsey called the woman "the Yellow Lady" because of her bright spirit.
"She didn't look like she was 93 at all," Ramsey said. "She had so much energy."
Business owners on Laramie Avenue tell us cars tear through the crosswalk and don't stop at the stop sign.
"A lot of times they don't," Ramsey said, "a lot of times."
We saw at least one car do just that during our time at the scene.
Police have not released the victim's identity, saying they have yet to notify family.
Anyone with information about the crash or the vehicle that fled is asked to call the police Major Accident Investigation Unit at (312) 745-4521.
