Pedestrian Fatally Hit by Car May Have Walked into Traffic on Purpose: Police

Riverside, IL - A driver who fatally struck a pedestrian with his car Thursday morning in Riverside told police the man intentionally lunged into traffic.

Officers responded to 911 calls at 4:15 a.m. about a pedestrian who was hit in the 2900 block of South Harlem, according to Riverside police, and some callers reported a body was in the road.

Paramedics took the pedestrian, a man who has been identified, to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead.

Police are investigating the collision, collecting evidence, reviewing video surveillance and interviewing witnesses and the driver. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in this crash, police reported.

“Presently, the Riverside Police Department is being assisted by the Illinois State Police accident reconstruction team in completing our investigation," said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a statement. "The investigation has not been completed yet, as officers are still gathering and collecting evidence. However, it appears that this is tragic crash and that the deceased intentionally walked into the traffic lane as stated by two independent witnesses.”

The driver stayed at the scene until police arrived. He said he was going southbound on Harlem in the curb lane when the man lunged into the lane. Two separate eyewitnesses each said they were northbound on Harlem when they saw the man purposely walk in front of the car that hit him, police reported.

The driver has not been charged with any crimes, but police drew biological samples from him for analysis at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, which is standard procedure in fatal crashes.

The pedestrian's last known permanent address was in La Grange, but he'd been staying in Berwyn for several months, police reported.

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.