ILLINOIS GIRL KILLED AFTER HIT AND RUN CRASH WHILE ON HER BIKE ON CHICAGO'S SOUTHWEST SIDE
A Chicago Southwest side community is mourning the death of an Illinois girl killed in a Hit and Run Vehicle Crash. 8-year old Mariela Crisotomo died after an SUV hit her while she was riding her bicycle in front of her house Tuesday. The SUV driver then took off after the auto accident.
Now, Chicago media outlets report Chicago Police are looking for the driver of a gray or silver SUV. Witnesses indicate the driver is a female. A Chicago Police official says Mariela ended up under a parked vehicle after she was struck by the SUV. The Cook County medical examiner's office says the child was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois for treatment, but she later died.
Unfortunately, bicycle accidents happen all too often and can be deadly. The website, www.bicyclinginfo.org, reports 630 people died in bicycle/motor vehicle accidents in 2009. That accounted for about two percent of the people who died or were hurt in vehicle accidents that year. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that kids are particularly in danger. In 2001, children who were 15 years old or younger made up 59% of bicycle - related injuries reported in emergency rooms in the United States.


