Woman Who Survived Lakeview Hit-And-Run That Killed Best Friend Sophie Allen Wonders Why There Has Been No Arrest
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A survivor spoke out Monday, weeks after a hit-and-run just steps from Wrigley Field killed her best friend.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported, Nahiomy Alvarez is still traumatized. She is also wondering why there has been no arrest in the case, despite the car and the other evidence left at the scene.
"At the beginning, I was like, I want to see; I want to know exactly what happened and whether I could have done something, and now I'm like, please don't," Alvarez said.
Alvarez does not remember the minutes on Saturday, Aug. 14, before an out-of-control BMW blew through a stop sign at Addison and Fremont streets, hit a car, and jumped a curb – injuring her and killing her friend Sophie Allen.
The sound of that impact was captured on a Lakeview Ring camera, which also captured who neighbors believe was either the driver or the passenger of the car – running away. Allen died a short time later.
"There was something so incredibly tragic about who he killed," Alvarez said. "Sophie was an amazing human. There was no way to rationalize stealing someone's life in the way they did."
The hit-and-run happened minutes after Alvarez and Allen took a picture outside Wrigley Field, across Addison Street and a city block to the west. The BMW was left behind on at the scene.
There is, again, video of an alleged suspect running – and the car's owner is known. But there have been no arrests.
Alvarez, who suffered a concussion, cuts, and other bruises, is having a tough time dealing with that fact.
"You still had weeks to learn about who you killed," she said. "She was a beautiful human."
She is also grieving, having just returned from Allen's North Carolina funeral. The 27-year-old Allen was in Chicago that weekend to celebrate a milestone in her breast cancer treatment and her future wedding.
"Now I'm like clenching to all those little moments we had, because it feels surreal that that happened," Alvarez said.
Alvarez and boyfriend Bret Watson are keeping a file on the case. They call police every week or so.
They have been told to be patient.
"I want someone to tell me that they're working on this – that they're not only working on this, that they're prioritizing it, that it's top of their list, and that we're going to have some peace," Alvarez said.
A Chicago Police Department representative would only say Monday night that the police Major Accident Investigation Unit is still investigating.
In the meantime, memories of Allen and the accident still linger on the sidewalk where she was killed.
