fatality tracker – Grid Chicago

Fatality Tracker: Man killed in Jeffery Manor after truck driver fails to yield

View Jeffery Boulevard and 95th Street in a Larger Map; seen from the driver’s perspective.

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 29 (13 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 7 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 10
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

The Tribune reported that tow truck driver Robert Parks, 63, struck pedestrian Morris Giles, 59, at 8 AM on Saturday, December 22, in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood. Giles died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn the following morning. The driver was making a left turn from southbound Jeffery Boulevard onto the eastbound lanes of 95th Street when he failed to yield to the pedestrian, who was crossing 95th. Parks was cited with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. Both men lived near the crash site.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts; see a data table listing all who’ve died.

Fatality Tracker: Man died after jumping in front of Metra train in Rogers Park

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Metra’s Rogers Park train station. Photo by Jeff Zoline.

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 28 (13 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 7 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 10
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

A 46-year-old unnamed man from Beach Park jumped in front of a UP-North Metra train at the Rogers Park station and died on Wednesday, December 12. The train was not scheduled to stop. The Chicago Tribune has more information about the incident as well as a story about how Metra apologized for the resulting delays.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts; see a data table listing all who’ve died.

Fatality Tracker: Man dies in Chinatown while cycling on Archer Avenue

View 2400 S Archer Avenue in a larger map

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 28 (13 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 7 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 9
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

The details of Yuan Zeng’s crash on Thursday, December 13, at 10 AM, are odd and confusing, as some commenters on The Chainlink pointed out. He was 68 years old and died on Friday, December 14, in Stroger Hospital. The Chicago Tribune wrote:

According to preliminary reports, Zeng struck the passenger side of a vehicle shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday near Archer Avenue and 24th Street. The impact of the collision forced him onto the windshield and into the road, police said.

A commenter on The Chainlink said:

When I read that short “blurb” I thought how interesting it is how often pedestrians walk right into the middle of the sides of cars and cyclists ride right into the middle of the sides of cars. (link)

When I lived in Bridgeport a few years ago I would sometimes ride on Archer Avenue to work in the Loop. It was often a harrowing experience because the wide road (2 lanes in each direction + 1 conventional bike lane in each direction) combined with low traffic volumes meant people drove their cars very fast. Couple that with poor quality pavement and poor drainage, the road is not designed for safe bicycling. The curves at this part of Archer Avenue saw people driving cars and buses in the bike lane.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts; see a data table listing all who’ve died. The Illinois Safety Data Mart is currently reporting 30 pedestrian fatalities. There were 7 pedalcyclist fatalities in 2011, as well.

Fatality Tracker: Teen killed by hit-and-run driver in Little Village last weekend

View 31st and Pulaski in a larger map

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 28 (13 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 6 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 9
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

David Perez, 18, was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver 3:45 AM Saturday, December 8, in Little village, the Tribune reports. A northbound vehicle struck Perez while he was in a crosswalk at 31st and Pulaski and then fled the scene, according to police.

Perez, who lived on the 2700 block of South Komensky Avenue, was pronounced dead at 4:41 AM at Mount Sinai Hospital. At the time of the Tribune report, police had no description of the vehicle.

Fatality Tracker: Man hit and killed by Metra train at Irving Park station

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A Metra train at the Irving Park station in 2010. Photo by Eric Pancer.

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 27 (12 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 6 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 9
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

Richard Garza, 56, of Wilmette, Illinois, was hit by a Metra train on the UP-Northwest route at the Irving Park station (3931 N Avondale Avenue) on Friday, November 23. The three tracks are on an embankment and viaduct, and there is no pedestrian crossing. Assuming the train was on time, this happened at approximately 18:17.

To augment the Fatality Tracker posts, I am develop an online spreadsheet so that key research data can be accessed. View it here; keep in mind that not all persons are yet included.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts.

Fatality Tracker: Two more pedestrian deaths make November a terribly active month

2012 Chicago fatality stats*:

Pedestrian: 27 (12 have been hit-and-run crashes)
Pedalcyclist: 6 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)
Transit: 8
Skateboard: 1 (1 is a hit-and-run crash)

Two pedestrian deaths since Friday’s Fatality Tracker update make for 5 this month.

On Saturday, November 17, 2012, Christopher Cooper, 44, of Bronzeville, “stepped into northbound traffic on the 7900 block of South Stony Island Avenue at about 11:15 p.m. Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.” “Police have issued the driver of the Cirrus, 23-year-old Frederick Jackson, a citation for failing to exercise due care.” (Chicago Tribune)

On Monday, November 19, 2012, 8:27 AM at 1501 W Cermak Road. A messaged emailed to me from the Chicago Police Department News Affairs office said:

A private dump truck ran over a 48-year-old male pedestrian as he was crossing in a crosswalk at Laflin & Cermak Rd. The victim was later pronounced DOA at Stroger Hospital.

The 48-year-old driver of the truck, Eduardo Cantu, of the 1800 block of Gunderson Ave, Berwyn, IL, was cited with Running a Stop Sign, Striking a Pedestrian in the Roadway, and Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian in a Crosswalk. At this time, Mr. Cantu is scheduled to appear in Traffic Court December 27, 2012.

This location is the site of the new Cermak and Blue Island Sustainable Streetscape project. This intersection received newly marked, international style crosswalks and a pedestrian refuge island. It’s directly in front of Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen.

Inexpensive gas this week, and the Thanksgiving holiday, means more driving, so November might be as deadly as August was this year.

* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time. View previous Fatality Tracker posts. The Illinois Safety Data Mart reports 28 pedestrian crashes (likely excluding the two in this update) but their information is incomplete until it’s fully processed.