As people call for justice and change on a busy street in Chicago after 18-year-old Damian Gomez was struck and killed in a hit-and-run while biking last weekend, another story that highlights the dangerous speeding that neighbors say is a regular occurrence in the area has come to light.
Marco Gonzalez moved to Chicago from Mexico City in search of a better life and is now facing pain, debt and uncertainty after he was run over while waiting for a bus on the 6100 block of South Kedzie Avenue in early March.
Around 12:50 p.m. on March 3, a 29-year-old woman was driving an uninsured Jeep Compass northbound on South Kedzie Avenue near 61st Street when she veered onto the sidewalk and crashed into Gonzalez and the bus stop he was waiting at.
“I was sitting waiting for the bus when I looked left, saw a car speeding toward me, I don’t remember anything, just waking up in the ambulance,” he said.
What was left of the toppled bus stop after the crash.
Gonzalez said he had been waiting at the bus stop for just two minutes before he was struck. The impact of the crash left Gonzalez lying in the street in pain, the front end of the Jeep Compass wrapped around a pole and the bus stop in ruin, with shattered glass and debris scattered around.
The driver initially fled the scene but later returned, according to the police report. She was later cited for failure to reduce speed, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possessing a firearm with a revoked FOID card and for leaving the scene.
Gonzalez said his skull and two vertebrae were fractured and his ribs broken in the crash. He spent 10 days in the hospital.
Since the crash, Gonzalez said his daily activities are limited and walking is painful for him. He now uses a device that supports his neck and spine to try to resume living his life, though he said his routine has changed completely since he was struck.
A Telemundo Chicago reporter first connected with Gonzalez at a vigil held Wednesday night for Gomez at the intersection where he was struck and killed by a speeding driver on Sunday, just two blocks away from where Gonzalez was hit.
Dozens gathered for the vigil, many holding signs calling for justice and improvements in street safety.
“Riding a bike should not be a death sentence,” one sign said. Others said, “silence protects the killer” and “street safety = life safety.”
Gonzalez said he arrived in the United States a little over a year ago with his wife. They hoped to build a better life, he said.
Now, he’s left with not only physical scars but also legal questions as he looks for a path forward while struggling to find an attorney who will take his case when the driver responsible does not have insurance.
Experts point out that, while there may be legal options Gonzalez could pursue, recovering financial compensation from an uninsured driver can be difficult and more trouble than is worth taking the case to most attorneys.
“The problem attorneys tell me is what can we recover from the driver? We can sue them […] but if they don’t have a job, savings, a house, or any money there’s nothing to get back,” he said.
Gonzalez said he already received a bill for $200,000 and that does not include the future appointments he has scheduled to follow up on injuries to his ribs and spine.
As Gonzalez continues to search for steps forward, authorities are also continuing their search for the driver responsible for killing Gomez over the weekend.
