2 pedestrians struck by driver fleeing Auburn Park traffic stop; 1 dead

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two pedestrians were struck after a driver attempted to flee a traffic stop Thursday, according to police.

Police said officers attempted to stop a dark-colored sedan near West 79th Street and South Lafayette Avenue when the driver took off and struck the victims.

The crash was the end of what police and witnesses said was a wild pursuit through the city's South Side streets.

"I just heard a big boom, just parked my car, by the time I turned around and looked there was so much was going on, I never seen the car, which way it went," said Keshia Williamson.

Surveillance video from a gas station at the intersection caught the gray sedan whizzing past, running down two pedestrians as it sped through the intersection.

"I see two bodies laying on the ground. A lady and a man. And I was more concerned about the lady, because from the time I turned my head and see her hit the ground, one minute she wasn't there the next minute she was," Williamson said.

Witnesses ran to help the 55-year-old woman, who was transported to University of Chicago hospital in critical condition. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The other victim, a 30-year-old man, was treated on the scene.

The gray Nissan sedan kept going, hitting an Uber and then an SUV.

"Just caught me by surprise because we're sitting still here at the red light and heard a boom and then we saw people pop out the car and they just start running," said Leslie, one of the drivers whose car was struck by the sedan. She asked only to be identified by her first name.

Police said they caught three men from the car a few blocks away and took them into custody.

"I'm at a loss for words right now," Leslie said.

Police said the driver of the vehicle is an adult, and that the car was a rental. Police said they did not know if the rental was stolen. Officers recovered narcotics from the car.

The suspects remain in custody at Area South.