Toddler Struck, Killed By Car In Englewood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 2-year-old girl died after she was struck by a car in the Englewood neighborhood early Friday, and police believe the driver was drunk.
CBS 2's Kris Gutierrez reports witnesses said the driver was speeding north on Morgan Street, when he hit several foldable white and orange barricades. He then struck 2-year-old Jamya Love as she was walking with her great-grandmother, who was pushing a stroller carrying another child.
"Next thing i know I looked over and she's folded over, she had blood coming out of her face," an emotional Pamela Thompson told CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez.
"I don't know what in the world he could have been thinking about drinking at 7 o'clock in the morning," she said.
A woman who lives on the third floor of an apartment building at the intersection said she heard a loud bang, and then screams for help.
"The baby was laying right there, and she was really twisted up," Nancy Miller said. "I just said, 'Lord, what can I do to help this baby,' and I just grabbed my blanket and covered her up and asked them not to touch her till the paramedics come."
Miller said she called 9-1-1.
Jamya was taken to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition, according to police at the scene. She was later pronounced dead, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Police said it appeared the driver was drunk at the time. According to police, he continued to drive down the street, then jumped out of the car about a block away, and tried to run away.
He was caught a short time later.
Witnesses said Jamya's great-grandmother was so hysterical that she could not use her cell phone. Although she was not physically injured, she was taken to a hospital because of emotional distress.
Outside the family home Friday, relatives remembered the little girl as sweet and energetic. Later, they gathered at the scene to pray and leave her favorite toys in memory.
