On Monday, loved ones begged for improved safety measures after a lady was struck and killed by a car while walking in her neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Maria Ochoa Flores, 84, was run over when two cars collided at a Garfield Ridge neighborhood crossroads on Saturday.
Two days later, Ochoa’s family stated that it was still difficult to discuss what happened because so many questions remained. However, they expressed their desire for answers and solutions on Monday evening.
Ochoa’s family marched for justice, following in her footsteps along the route she used to walk every day for exercise. They demand answers and solutions.
“She was a great woman — always made sure our family was safe, always asking about her grandkids — my kids,” said Maria Ochoa’s son, Fernando Ochoa. “We actually live a block apart.”
The family is united in their anguish and purpose, pushing for greater safety measures such as speed bumps and cameras, as well as a review of any films that may have captured the crash that killed their grandmother.
“They’re both saying they had the green light,” Fernando Ochoa said of the two drivers who collided on Archer Avenue on Saturday. “How is that possible?”
According to the accident report, the two drivers came from different directions. A silver automobile was traveling northeast on Archer Avenue and attempted to make a left turn into northbound Laramie Avenue, but was struck by a gray sedan traveling southwest and also attempting to turn north onto Laramie Avenue.
The impact of the collision sent the silver automobile careening toward Ochoa. Police arrived as two medics attempted to save her on the street, but she died of her injuries at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
“Never caused harm to anyone,” Fernando Ochoa stated. “Just taking a normal daily walk that she did every single day to keep her body and exercise moving.”
Now, Maria Ochoa’s family wants to make sure they help prevent other lives at a crossroads littered with skid marks left by street takeovers – reminders of recklessness that will most certainly outlast the flowers left for her.
“You’re here in the middle of the night, late at night — because my bedroom is right there,” Fernando Ochoa told me. “You can hear screeching and pealing from people racing each other out there.
According to authorities, the 26-year-old man driving the silver car and the 63-year-old man driving the gray car, as well as their occupants, were unharmed.
The driver of the silver automobile received a citation. Detectives from the Wentworth Area are conducting an investigation.
Reference: Family demands justice after woman, 84, was hit, killed in wreck on Chicago’s Southwest Side
