On Tuesday, September 6th around 7:30pm, a senior citizen was hit by a speeding car in front of the Morningside Senior Home at 1250 West Morse Avenue. No one really cared to tell anyone. A sign warns of seniors crossing, but this driver apparently didn't notice. This sign in the above photo faces the drivers heading westbound. There is no sign warning drivers of a senior home crossing, going eastbound. There are no speed limit signs either. Nor a stop sign.
Chicago Police Department news affairs confirms a 93 year old man was struck and killed by Lawrence Williams Jr who resides in the 1100 block of West Lunt. The senior citizen was pronounced dead at 8:52pm at St. Frances Hospital in Evanston.
Lawrence Williams Jr was driving a Toyota westbound, and at 7:42 p.m. he struck a senior resident of the Morningside Senior Home, who was walking accross the street. The police report accident was recorded at 1304 W. Morse Avenue. The elderly mans name was not released, pending notification of next to kin.
Mr. Williams Jr was "issued four citations and released on I-Bond", according to Officer West of News Affairs. " The charges were: failure to reduce speed, failure to produce a drivers license, failure to produce insurance, and hitting a pedestrian in a roadway."
Talking with two security guards from both the evening and morning shift at the Morningside Senior Center brought no answers. Each guard knew nothing. Turning a blind eye to the subject, Ms. Williams, who works the evening shift seemed more concerned with where she was going to be taking a nap. Her un-tucked and wrinkled uniform looked as if I had just woke her up from a long one. She told me to come back in the morning. The morning security guard, Mr. Alexander was just as useless. He claimed nothing happened at all.
But others did.
"I saw a few of you there when it happened. A 93 year-old man was crossing the street on Morse near Lakewood when he was struck and killed by a speeding car on Tuesday evening at about 7:30pm." said Jocelyn M. in a community sent email. The email ended on this note. "It's just really upsetting to me that an old man, living to 93, had to die that way."
Lawrence Williams Jr. is scheduled to appear in Traffic Court, 50 West Washington, October 3rd at 2:30pm.
6 comments:
Thanks for reporting on this, Craig.
I did not see any news reports on this incident.
Thanks for covering this Craig.
My first question about this is why was this guy's license suspended? For speeding? If it was, he shouldn't be allowed to drive - period.
I disagree with Thomas Westgard- not everyone drives 35-45mph on Morse Avenue and thank God they don't because it's an area with lots of pedestrian traffic. I think it's a cop out to say everyone disobeys traffic laws. And if someone has their license suspended, no insurance etc... it looks BAD. Most people do not drive that fast in the area- I know because I walk by there all the time.
And as someone who does not nor has ever owned a car and only drives rentals when needed, I can say that I do obey the traffic laws pretty much most of the time.
It infuriates me to see people speeding past a school in the morning and if they hurt someone they deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. A message of intolerance should be sent.
I have contacted the Alderman's office because there should be at a minimum a crosswalk there and I started a petition today. I plan to be at the CAPs meeting with a few people including someone who witnessed the accident and ask why this guy wasn't drug tested. He was acting pretty strangely muttering to himself etc...
And finally, tonight I was out gathering signatures and saw that there actually is a little shrine there now.
Jocelyn M.
I like the tree idea also.
Maybe a combined senior housing and nightclub entertainment district on Morse Ave, as Alderman Moore proposes, is not such a good urban plan.
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