Edward Price is being remembered as a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
The victim's son says his father was a Vietnam veteran, a Purple Heart recipient and for years worked for the state as an advocate for children. He says he spoke to his father on the phone minutes before the crash.
"He said, 'I need you to get this paperwork, in case anything ever happens to me,' life insurance paperwork, and it was almost prophetic," Anthony Price said. "Within an hour and a half later, he was, he was no longer with us."
Relatives of Edward Price are mourning the death of their family patriarch. The 78-year-old great-grandfather, who survived being shot in Vietnam, lost his life in a flurry of chaos.
"That's why I was shocked," Anthony Price said. "My first conversation to the doctor was I just talked to him. What do you mean?"
Wednesday around midday, police say the driver of an SUV may have had a medical episode before crashing into several vehicles, including a police squad car with two officers inside, near Butterfield Road and Laverne in Hillside.
Police said the driver continued east on Butterfield before careening into a Walgreens parking lot, hitting more vehicles and striking Edward Price, who was using a walker to navigate a pedestrian ramp.
"The weather had receded a little bit. It had gotten a little bit warmer, and that's when he ventured out, yeah, unfortunately," Anthony Price said.
He says his father didn't drive and was disabled after another vehicle crash several years ago. The West Side native has retired from working for Illinois DCFS as a child welfare specialist.
"I just think he was an advocate for people," Anthony Price said. "He was one of these people that commanded the room."
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Despite losing his father, Anthony's thoughts are now with the two officers who were injured and the 73-year-old driver who police said remains hospitalized.
"My father is no longer with us, but ideally both officers will have full recovery, and so will the other driver," Anthony Price said.
Hillside police say they continue to investigate the crash. The driver has not been charged or cited as of Friday evening.
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