WOMAN DIES AFTER BEING DRAGGED IN HIT-RUN ON NEAR N. SIDE; ALDERMAN BLAMES LOOTERS
A 55-year-old Arizona woman died after she was struck and dragged a half block by a hit-and-run driver Monday night on the Near North Side, and an alderman has tied the incident to continued looting in the area.
She was one of two women about to cross the street in the first block of East Hubbard Street when a male driving a silver-colored Ford Explorer SUV hit her and another woman, Chicago police said.
Zoraleigh Ryan, of Chandler, Arizona, was dragged about half a block at 10:30 p.m. and died at the scene, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The second woman, 20, was treated for minor abrasions and released from a hospital, police said.
Officers nearby tried to stop the driver, but he sped off, police said.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Luis Agostini, in a text message to the SunTimes, said a man had surrendered to police and charges were pending, but they had not been able to tie the incident to the massive downtown looting early Monday.
But Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) did.
“We have reason to believe that this vehicle was involved in looting. Detectives have not made that determination yet. But there’s some witness statements that suggest it. We know that the looters drive extremely fast and recklessly. That was what this vehicle was doing,” Hopkins said Tuesday.
Hopkins was asked what makes him so certain when detectives are still investigating the potential link.
“Because of the nonstop reckless driving that was associated with the looting activities Sunday night. Cars flying in all directions. Going the wrong way down one-way streets. Flying against red-lights. For hours, I watched that happen,” the alderman said.
Hopkins said there was sporadic looting Monday night and Tuesday morning. “It was significantly less than we saw Sunday night. But there were still some scattered reports in the 18th District — downtown and River North.”