Person Of Interest Questioned In Woman's Hit-And-Run Traffic Death
(STMW/CBS) -- Detectives were questioning a person of interest Sunday night in connection with the Avondale hit-and-run crash that left a west suburban woman dead and her husband seriously injured on the Northwest Side.
About 7 a.m., a white Jaguar with Illinois license plates of "DO R DI" was westbound on Belmont Avenue when it ran a red light at the intersection of Kedzie Avenue, according to Chicago Police.
The Jaguar hit the passenger side of a Chevrolet that was northbound on Kedzie, sending it spinning into two other cars in oncoming traffic, police said.
The passenger in the Chevrolet was identified by relatives as Maria Carmen Garcia Vanegas, 58. A family member said she was on her way to church.
"She was a very religious woman, very caring, always glad, happy," her nephew, Eluisco Vanegas, tells CBS 2. "She was the life of the party, but she never missed a day of Mass."
His aunt was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she died at 7:39 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Her husband, 64, was taken to the same hospital in serious condition. Relatives identified him as Andres Garcia.
Three people in the other two cars declined medical attention, fire officials said.
The driver of the Jaguar ran away after the crash, police said. Investigators think alcohol was a factor.
Police said a person of interest was being questioned Sunday night. No charges have been filed.
CPD's Major Accidents Investigation Unit is handling the case.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2016. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
