One Woman Killed, Another Injured Upon Being Hit By Car Near Wrigley Field, Town Hall District Police Station In Lakeview; Driver Runs Off
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One woman was killed and another was injured Saturday wen they were hit by a car in Lakeview – only about a block from Wrigley Field and right across the street from the Town Hall (19th) District police station.
As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, the women, 24 and 28, were crossing the street at Addison and Fremont streets around 12:30 p.m. when the car hit them. The younger woman was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering head injuries, while the older woman was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was stabilized after suffering minor injuries.
Police earlier reported the surviving victim was a man, but later clarified that she was a woman.
The BMW X3 sport-utility vehicle that hit the women crashed into a fence right in front of homes.
The driver and a passenger bailed from the car and ran off on foot.
As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, neighbors were shocked because of the brazenness of where the hit-and-run happened. Many said it could have been any of them hit.
The stretch of Fremont Street where the women were hit by the car is a place where people park for Cubs games and are warned not to park for night games. It is also an area filled with families like Mark Bose and his kids.
"One of the neighbors warned me, they said, 'Don't go down that way. It gets graphic,'" Bose said.
Indeed, the hit-and-run happened feet from Bose and his kids. Bose heard the horrific sound.
"Impact, impact, impact, impact," he said. "The kids that I was watching were half a block from there - pedestrians themselves - so that's disturbing. Extremely disturbing."
The chain of events started a block over at the Shell gas station at the southwest corner of Halsted and Addison streets. Workers there said the driver of the SUV drove through the parking lot and hit another car at a crosswalk.
The driver then headed west on Addison Street and ran the stop sign at Addison and Fremont streets. The driver turned left to go south on Fremont Street and hit the two pedestrians, before driving onto the west side of the sidewalk and running into the iron fence, police said.
"Usually when I hear a car accident, it's the sound of one impact or maybe like an explosion type sound, but the sound of it kept happening," Bose said. "I think it was the sound of the car hitting a car, then another fence, and then a building."
Surveillance video from a nearby home shows what appears to be the SUV making a sharp turn off Addison Street. Later, there is a screech and a crash and someone yelling, "Oh my God!"
If you look again at the video, it is clear how busy the intersection was with a bicyclist and other vehicles. And then there's the location – which is also steps from the Addison Street Red Line Chicago Transit Authority 'L' stop.
"You literally have a police station right there; you have a train," said Manish Dhamija. "So I feel like it would be hard to do something like that and just get away with it."
CBS 2 spotted what appears to be a sandal or a shoe near the SUV, where officers took pictures late into the evening.
"I just think that is so horrible, especially for someone to do that and then just run off and, like, leave - especially in the middle of the day," said Reese Craig.
"It's very scary because it could literally be any of us," added Dhamija.
We wanted to know more about the BMW X3 involved. We ran the plates but were unable to reach the Chicago man to whom it is registered.
No one was in custody late Saturday. The police Major Accident Investigation Unit is investigating.
