Man Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In East Garfield Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run collision early Friday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.
The 42-year-old man was walking near Congress Parkway and St. Louis Avenue around 3:30 a.m., when a passing vehicle hit a parked car, then struck the man, and kept going.
"When I heard the accident, I immediately heard screaming from a guy's voice, saying, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!," Savanna Maxwell said. "When I came out, one of my neighbors was coming out as well, so I asked him what happened, and he said, 'Well, a car came past, and it hit my car, and this guy as well.'"
Maxwell said she wanted to help the man who had been hit, but when she saw his injuries, she knew he was "really in bad shape."
The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Anthony Ivy tried to console a friend of the victim, and try to help that man communicate with police officers after witnessing the crash.
"He was really distraught," Ivy said.
Witnesses said the car might have just exited the Eisenhower Expressway at Homan Avenue. They said cars zoom off the Eisenhower down Congress Parkway, often doubling the 25 mph speed limit.
A landlord who lives on the street said passing cars have struck his two tenants' parked cars 9 or 10 times in the past two years.
Residents on the block said they're hoping the city will install speed bumps or speed cameras to prevent future accidents. Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The victim's name has not been released. No one was in custody Friday morning.
