[flickr]photo:7184923278[/flickr]
Photo by Drew Baker.
2012 Chicago fatality stats*:
Pedestrian: 7 (5 have been from hit-and-run crashes, 1 was struck by a train, and the 7th is described here)
Pedalcyclist: 0
Transit: 5
I wonder if this kind of crash would have been prevented if curbs were taller. From the Chicago Tribune:
A 63-year-old woman died after getting pinned against a currency exchange wall by a car whose driver accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake, police said.
[Carol Divincenzo] was hit at the corner of 67th Street and Pulaski Road about 9:25 p.m., police said. [67th Street is also known as Marquette Road.]
The driver, also a woman in her 60s, is in custody but not expected to face criminal charges, police said. She may be cited for not having insurance and striking a pedestrian but police said she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time and includes only people who died in the Chicago city limits. View previous Fatality Tracker posts.
Why are these people not being charged with homicide? I don’t care if it was an accident, they still killed someone and should take full responsibility for their actions.
There is no such thing as negligent homicide in Illinois. As such, she does not meet the requirements for involuntary homicide, i.e. recklessly performs an act that is likely to cause death, nor 1st or 2nd degree murder, no malice.
I’d say that hitting someone with a car qualifies as recklessly performing an act that is likely to cause death.