Police are looking for the vehicle responsible for a suburban Chicago hit-and-run accident that killed a bicyclist, according to ABC7 News.
Family members of the 61-year-old man gathered at the scene of the Chicago bicycle accident over the weekend to pray and ask for help in locating the suspect in the fatal hit-and-run crash. The victim was hit while riding his bicycle in suburban Ford Heights, near Cottage Grove and 11th Street.
The accused driver fled and left the man lying at the side of the road.
A citizen found the man at about 9 p.m. The victim was taken to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights and then airlifted to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, where he died as a result of his injuries, the Park Forest News reported.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the suspect. Authorities reported evidence found at the scene indicates that the vehicle involved is a 1996 to 2002 Chevy van of unknown color. The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information to please contact the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Investigations Section at (708) 865-4896.
The Illinois Department of Transportation reported more than 3,810 Illinois bicycle accidents occurred last year, killing 27 people and injuring 3,385. Three-quarters of injured cyclists were male.
As first reported on Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog last fall, police continue to deal with high numbers of Chicago pedestrians being struck and seriously injured or killed by hit-and-run drivers.