A tow truck plowed through multiple red lights in West Lawn on Wednesday afternoon, smashing into a vehicle and causing a crash that killed the car’s driver, authorities said Thursday.
Steve Smith, 59, died from injuries sustained in the wreck, which occurred at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4500 block of 63rd Street, Chicago police said. It’s unclear whether anyone else was injured.
Police said a tow truck driver, who has not yet been identified, was driving west on 63rd Street Wednesday afternoon. The truck driver barreled through multiple red lights and crashed into Smith’s car, which was traveling in the same direction.
Smith’s vehicle was pushed into a utility pole near the road’s intersection with Kilbourn Avenue, authorities said. The tow truck driver then fled the scene.
Smith was transported by emergency personnel to Christ Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. An autopsy was conducted Thursday, confirming that trauma from the crash caused Smith’s death, authorities said.
The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accidents Unit is investigating the crash. Authorities did not disclose whether the investigation had yielded additional information about the tow truck driver and what led to the crash.
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