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No One In Custody As Investigation Continues Into Hit-And-Run That Killed Retired Police Officer Richard Haljean In Edison Park

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police Supt. David Brown extended condolences Friday to the family of Richard Haljean, who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edison Park the night before.

Haljean was a recently retired Chicago Police Officer.

As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, police late Friday were still looking for the driver who hit the 57-year-old at Touhy and Oriole avenues and just kept driving. A license plate was left at the scene.

At 6:15 p.m. Thursday, a Jeep was headed west in the 7600 block of West Touhy Avenue when he hit Haljean, who was walking north across the street.

The Jeep sped off.

The impact was so powerful that Haljean's shoes were sent flying to different parts of the street.

Haljean was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he died.

Investigators from the police Major Accident Investigation Unit spent hours walking the road, taking pictures and looking for evidence – pieces of the car that may have fallen off.

Meanwhile, a tweet posted to the CPD's Twitter page reading the recently-retired officer "succumbed to his injuries yesterday, after being struck by a vehicle in a hit and run accident."

This was echoed by nearby Park Ridge police, who wrote quote, "Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com."

"We send our condolences out," Supt. Brown said Friday. "What a tragic, tragic thing for the family. Our prayers are with the family as well."

But there was no major update on the investigation from Supt. Brown, who expressed condolences for the family at an unrelated press conference Friday. There was also nothing on the license plate that was found.

"We're conducting a full investigation to bring the offender to justice," Brown said.

People who live near the scene calling the stretch of road where the incident happened dangerous…

"I heard that the car took off – and that it must have been pretty serious," said Sharon Sands. "You can't cross. Nobody can cross, either way. No cars stop. People fly down here."

We wanted to know if there have been accidents there before, whether the Chicago Department of Transportation has looked into any complaints, and how many hit-and-runs police have investigated and solved this past year.

We were told we can't get those answers from the city without a formal public records request.

We've also been checking in with police on this throughout the day, but there was still no one in custody late Friday. Police would not comment on the license plate found at the scene.

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and 100 Club of Illinois told us they are not involved, since Haljean was retired.

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