Lawndale pedestrian killed in hit-and-run, struck by 2 cars – Chicago Tribune

A man crossing the street in Lawndale was killed Tuesday night after two cars struck him, police said.

The driver of the first car that hit the 58-year-old man fled the scene, police said. The silver car headed south down Pulaski Road after the 9:30 p.m. collision, witnesses said. The second driver whose car hit the pedestrian, a 20-year-old man, remained on the scene in the 4000 block of West 5th Avenue and awaited authorities.

The 58-year-old pedestrian was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was not at a crosswalk when he was killed, police said.

No arrests have been made and detectives continue to investigate.

Tuesday’s fatal hit and run follows a string of pedestrian deaths as the result of vehicles earlier in the summer.

[ ‘Shouldn’t have happened’: Family of 11-year-old boy hopes driver comes forward after fatal hit-and-run in Lawndale ]

In Lawndale 11-year-old Ja’Lon James had just graduated from fifth grade on the honor roll when he was fatally struck by a car in a mid-June hit and run.

Earlier in June, 75-year-old Peter Paquette was fatally struck by a car in an Irving Park Road crosswalk in North Center.

In the two weeks prior, 3-year-old Lily Grace Shambrook and 2-year-old Raphael “Rafi” Cardenas were fatally struck by cars in separate accidents. Shambrook was being carried on a bike in Uptown, and Cardenas had been crossing a Lincoln Square street on a mini-scooter.

[ After recent traffic deaths, including 2 toddlers, communities clamor for safety improvements for bikers and walkers ]

Following the string of summertime pedestrian deaths, community members rallied for road improvements that would keep cyclists and walkers safer and shone a spotlight on city streets that are by and large not designed with foot and bike traffic in mind.

City officials have since announced concrete-protected bike lanes will be installed across Chicago. City Council also narrowly rejected a proposal that would have raised the speed camera over-the-limit threshold from 6 mph to 10 mph, a move proponents said protects pedestrians from racing cars.