City Settles With Family Of Girl, 6, Who Died In Hit-And-Run
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A settlement has been reached between the City of Chicago and the family of a 4-year-old girl killed in a hit-and-run accident near Lincoln Park Zoo.
As WBBM Newsradio's Julie Mann reports, Maya Hirsch was struck and killed by a car on May 20, 2006, as she crossed the street with her mother and 6-year-old brother, Ben, at the intersection of Lincoln Park West and Belden Avenue.
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A black Lexus hit them all, and Maya was dragged under the car as the driver – Michael Roth, 57, kept going. Her mother and brother were slightly hurt.
Maya's parents, David Hirsch and Danit Steinbach Hirsch, sued the City of Chicago in connection with the accident, claiming that stop signs and other traffic control markings and devices were improperly placed or had gotten old and deteriorated, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A civil trial had been set to start Tuesday, but the city agreed to a settlement the night before, the Tribune reported.
No details of the settlement or its value were released.
When Roth plowed into the family and dragged Maya under his car that sunny Saturday afternoon, many witnesses yelled for him to stop and chased his car as it sped off.
Police easily traced the Roth's vanity license plate, "OCEAN 21," and he but was arrested at his North Side condo and hit with felony charges. He already had multiple traffic tickets, as well as past felony convictions for robbery and aggravated assault.
Roth was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to eight years behind bars. He died in prison on April 5, 2008.
His estate was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, the Tribune reported.
Shortly after the deadly accident, city crews quickly painted bright white lines on the crosswalk across Lincoln Park West and installed new stop signs. The intersection was later reconfigured to better accommodate pedestrians.
