Police confirmed the suspected SUV involved in the crash was abandoned just two blocks away from where the victim was struck and killed.
A man in his 70s was walking in the 6700-block of Beckwith Road near Neenah on Thursday at about 7:30 a.m., Morton Grove police said.
He was struck by a tan Chevy Equinox LT traveling on Beckwith, police said, and officers found him with critical injuries on the ground. The pedestrian was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where he died less than an hour later.
The victim was later identified as Jonathan Friedman of Morton Grove, by Cook County officials.
Family and friends who ABC7 spoke with said Friedman was an avid walker and a photographer.
Neighbors said they saw him out walking every single morning.
Investigators spent most of the day processing evidence from the vehicle before towing it away in the afternoon.
The suspect driver fled the scene. Morton Grove police later said they found the Chevy Equinox, the suspected SUV involved in the crash, at Beckwith and Normandy, but nobody was inside.
Police said they have a person of interest in custody and are asking witnesses to give them a call.
No other information was made available.