Family mourns innocent bystander killed in Avalon Park shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A family is in anguish after their loved one was shot and killed, randomly hit by gunfire in the Avalon Park neighborhood as he drove to work at Jackson Park Hospital.

"He was my little brother. He was my little brother and we had a good time," said Jay Plank.

For David Plank's family, the senseless killing still hasn't sunk in.

"Surreal, tragic, horrible. Those are the only words. We can't wrap our heads around what just happened," said Peg Plank, David's sister-in-law.

Plank, 54, lived in the southwest suburbs. Wednesday afternoon he was driving near 84th and Stony Island on his way to work when a bullet pierced his car, hitting him in the chest and causing him to crash into another vehicle. He was taken to a local hospital where he died.

The father of two was headed to work at Jackson Park Hospital where he had a maintenance job. Police said the bullet entered his car on the passenger side.

"We're having coffee. We're talking about baseball. He's making his lunch. He got ready for work. He went to work, and two and a half hours later I found out he's dead," said his brother Jay.

Police say Plank was not the intended target. The apparent crossfire also grazed a 17-year-old girl nearby.

Plank's job on the South Side and Chicago's epidemic of violence often worried his family.

"I go, maybe you shouldn't be there. He goes, I'm okay," Jay said.

"It's senseless. This has to stop. This has to stop, this shooting," said Peg.

No one is in custody at this time. Police say the gunfire may have come from someone in a vehicle, perhaps a white four-door.