Tim Fleming was apparently chasing after his dog when he was hit on the southbound entrance ramp from Washington Street to Route 41.
Police found no damaged vehicles left behind in the vicinity. They believe whoever hit Fleming simply drove off afterward. They are now trying to find that driver.
The highway runs just a few feet from his back yard. And police believe Fleming just left the house a little before 4 in the morning chasing after his dog, who had gotten loose.
The chase may have taken him onto the road where he was apparently struck by a hit-and-run driver.
"I'm sure he was trying to find the dog in the fog and didn't really pay attention to cars coming," said John Fleming, the victim's cousin.
There was limited visibility because of fog overnight. That may have been a factor for the driver.
The 31-year-old Fleming was wearing a Cubs jacket and yellow pajama pants when he was hit. The vehicle also apparently struck and injured the dog. Police have yet to find a witness who saw it. A driver who came upon the aftermath first called them.
"The person who called it in drove by, initially didn't know what they saw. They kind of drove around the victim, stopped and realized it was a person and then called us," said Cmdr. William Meyer, Gurnee Police Department.
John Fleming is says his cousin was his best friend, a guy who always thought of others first. He's hoping the driver who hit him comes forward.
"It's not about vengeance, it's just, come forward and give us some closure and let us know exactly how it happened," he said.
There are a couple red light cameras in the vicinity and police are hopeful they may get a shot of the vehicle involved from one of them. But they likely still need witnesses to come forward to corroborate anything they might find on one of those cameras.
They're hoping to hear from another driver who may have been on the road nearby early this morning when it happened.
