An attorney for the driver named in the lawsuit says the crash was simply a tragic accident, but the family of the man killed says it was the result of sheer recklessness.
Three months later, the death of Haroon Arrasheed still cuts deep for his family.
"Heartrenching," the victim's siter Vina Morris said. "Haroon was like the glue to the family. He was a man of faith."
The 50-year-old married father of four daughters was killed January 7 when Chicago police say a driver crashed into his Mini Cooper at 92nd Street and Stoney Island Avenue. The crash happened as Arrasheed was headed to his job at a Muslim community center blocks away.
"He was a good man, and I believe that he deserve the justice as well as his family," Masjid Al Farooq Imam Ousmane Drame said.
Arrasheed's family has now announced a lawsuit against the driver of a Cadillac SUV, 47-year-old Troshawn McCoy, who Chicago police say was driving too fast.
"The behavior of the defendant was not accidental. It was reckless, and his reckless behavior stole a man's life," family attorney Rahsaan Gordon said.
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The day of the crash, two witnesses told ABC7 they were behind McCoy and another driver, and said both were drag racing for more than a mile.
"They were weaving in and out, and they were stopping at the street lights, but they were peeling off," a witness said. "The way he was driving, I thought he was going to flip himself."
Arrasheed's family has released a video of the T-bone crash, which they've frozen before impact.
In response to the lawsuit, McCoy's attorney said "Although the claims made here are without merit, I know that Mr. McCoy extends his deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Arasheed. This was a tragic accident."
Police say McCoy was cited for failure to reduce speed, but Arrasheed's family is calling for serious criminal charges to be filed.