Halloween is a special holiday for young kids. They get to dress up, go and knock on neighbors’ doors and best of all, get their hands on candy. One little Chicago boy’s Halloween turned into a nightmare, however, when he was struck by a car as he and his family crossed a street in the Clearing neighborhood just south of Midway airport.
The family was in a crosswalk just past 6 p.m. on Halloween evening when the car hit the boy. The driver did not stop to help the boy, law enforcement officials said. The child was taken to Loyola Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition with unspecified injuries.
The driver sped off into the night, police said. The vehicle is said to be a tan or beige 4-door Toyota Corolla. The hit-and-run vehicle was going west on 63rd Street toward Harlem Avenue.
We can only imagine the fear and pain his family has had to go through in their terrifying ordeal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the pedestrians most at risk of injuries and fatalities are those who are older and those who are younger. People age 65 or above account for 19 percent of all pedestrian fatalities and about 10 percent of all pedestrian injuries, the CDC says.
Of the kids who die in traffic crashes, about 1 in 5 are pedestrians.
We do not know what caused Monday’s Chicago crash, but we do know that alcohol is involved in nearly half of all accidents in which a pedestrian dies.
In many situations like the one this family is dealing with, there are enormous medical bills and other costs associated with the injuries. With the help of a skilled attorney, a family can pursue justice and hold the driver financially accountable for the damage done.