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Woman Helping Teen In Road Killed By Hit-Run Driver

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman trying to help a teenager who had run away from a home for the mentally challenged was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in Aurora.

Theresa Burns, 57, of Des Plaines, worked at the Northern Illinois Academy. She was trying to help an 18-year-old girl, who had run off from the academy, get out of the street on Monday.

She was struck by a man driving a GEO Metro around 5:30 p.m. The accident occurred about 150 feet north of Corporate Boulevard, a statement from police said.

The male driver of the car got out of the vehicle and ran away. Police said they have a good idea who the driver is, but have not found him yet.

Burns was a staff member at Northern Illinois Academy, a residence and school for persons with psychiatric challenges at 988 Corporate Blvd., police said.

She was assisting another staff member in helping an 18-year-old student who had run from the school and was sitting in the southbound lanes of Church Road.

The GEO Metro struck both Burns and her co-worker, a 25-year-old Plainfield man, who was treated and released from a hospital.

Anyone with information on the crash or the driver should call police at (630) 256-5330.

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