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Police Question Person of Interest in Belmont Cragin Fatal Hit-and-Run

The case underscores a sharp rise in fatal hit-and-runs in Chicago this year.

Overview

  • A red pickup struck a 65-year-old woman in a marked crosswalk on the 3100 block of North Central Avenue in Belmont Cragin, then fled south on Central Avenue.
  • First responders tried to save her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
  • Police later recovered the pickup unoccupied and are questioning a person of interest, and no arrests have been announced as the victim remains publicly unidentified.
  • Ald. Felix Cardona Jr. said the driver appeared impaired and claimed the man went into a business to keep drinking, describing accounts he said came from witnesses.
  • City data count this as Chicago’s seventh fatal hit-and-run of 2026, and officials note that only a small share of hit-and-run cases lead to arrests in a typical year.