Chicago man charged in Old Irving Park hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist, 23

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 57-year-old Chicago man has been charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist earlier this week on the city's Northwest Side.

Phil Pinkawa was charged Friday with failing to report an accident/death.

Chicago police said he was driving the vehicle that hit 23-year-old Nick Parlingayan about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 3800-block of North Milwaukee Avenue and left the scene.

He was arrested Thursday in Chicago.

Parlingayan's family placed flowers near the intersection of North Milwaukee and Kilbourn avenues Thursday.

"I said I won't believe it until I see him," Gigi Javier, Paringayan's mother, said. "I still want to believe or hope that's it's not him but I guess that's not going to happen."

"One of the smartest kids I know," said his stepfather, Ariel Javier. "Very helpful, very generous. Everybody was....they loved, they loved him. He was such a good kid, such a young age for him to go this way."

Parlingayan's longtime neighbor Stuart Henrichs described him as a hard worker who always greeted people with a big smile.

SEE MORE: Bicyclist killed in Old Irving Park hit-and-run crash; person of interest ID'd, police say

"I mean, he was a good person," Henrichs said. "I mean, you don't come across that too often anymore and he was a very kind person."

"People blow through this light over here all the time," neighbor Kim Payne said. "And there's a problem. They speed down this road. It's tragic."

Bicyclist Patrick Wyatt said a construction project near the scene has made the area dangerous for cyclists.

"Before it was fine when you ride your bike through here but now that they've got this construction right here, they got it down to one lane and there's really no bike lanes, so I mean I'm not surprised that somebody got hit over here," Wyatt said.

Alex Perez, with Active Transportation Alliance, said painted bike lanes are not protection.

"Paint is one thing done, but it's not protection," Perez said. "Pillars that are plastic are one thing, but they are not protection. What we advocate for is concrete protecting bike lanes. That way when you are in a bike lane there is some physical protection."

So far this year, at least three bicyclists have been killed in Chicago. And the city's data show last year more than 1,600 cyclists were involved in crashes.

The crash occurred in the same intersection where a ghost bike memorial is chained to a pole in memory of Carla Aiello, a woman who was killed after being hit by a dump truck back in 2019.

Pinkawa is due in court Saturday.