This is bad even for Chicago. Driving up on the sidewalk?


Toddler in stroller killed by car fleeing shooting

By Rosemary Regina Sobol, Jeremy Gorner and Gregory Pratt

A toddler died Saturday after the stroller he was in was hit by a car driven by a suspect fleeing a fatal South Side shooting, police said.

The boy, who was about a year old, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital, said Officer Bari Lemmon, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department. Nearly two dozen relatives and friends huddled in a light rain outside the emergency room at the hospital, crying and exchanging hugs.

A witness at the scene of the crash in the 6300 block of South Ellis Avenue said he saw the car come up on the sidewalk, where a woman was pushing a baby stroller. The car "ran straight over" the stroller, Micah Ocana said.

"Baby wasn't even crying," Ocana said. "Just a lot of blood." He said it looked as though the woman "didn't even get hit at all."

"I can only imagine what she's going through," Ocana said. "It's crazy.

Police investigated the crime scene into the evening. As evidence technicians went to remove the stroller, a woman who earlier described the child as "my baby" rushed past the crime scene tape but was pulled back by officers.

The South Shore incident occurred about 1:40 p.m., when someone shot a 22-year-old man in the left hip and back in the 7700 block of South Kingston Avenue, said Officer Veejay Zala, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.

About 20 minutes later, the suspect's vehicle hit the toddler about 3 1/2 miles northwest of the shooting, in the Woodlawn neighborhood.

The shooting victim, who was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, died, according to officials.

A law enforcement source citing preliminary information said that police had initially pursued the shooting suspect or suspects, but the source did not know how long the pursuit lasted.

Two people are in custody, according to a law enforcement source.