Soon-to-be father killed in crash after burglars smash into Mag Mile Louis Vuitton store identified

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An innocent bystander who was killed after a crash-and-grab on the Mag Mile early Thursday has now been identified.

The victim was a soon-to-be father, whose son was born Friday just a day after his death, family members told ABC7.

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The incident occurred at about 4:53 a.m. Thursday in the 100-block of East Walton Street along the Magnificent Mile downtown Chicago, police said.

Cellphone video captured the moments after thieves used a pick up truck to ram into a Louis Vuitton store. A group of people could be seen running in and out of the store with stolen items. The thieves then get into several vehicles and speed off, police said.

Chicago police said one of the fleeing SUVs ended up crashing into another driver at Michigan and Ohio, upending the vehicle and killing the driver.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has identified him as 40-year-old Mark Arceta of Skokie.

Family member told ABC7 that Arceta was eager to meet his son.

"Mom, it's a boy... when he showed me the ultrasound," the victim's mother Alejandra Arceta said.

However, about 24 hours before Arceta's pregnant wife was scheduled to have labor induced, tragedy struck in the heart of the Mag Mile.

"I said, 'So unfair. Life is so unfair,'" Alejandra Arceta said.

That morning, Arceta's mother was watching ABC7's coverage of the burglary.

"And I didn't know there was an accident already," she said. "I came to know it only maybe 8 a.m. when my daughter came and told me that happened."

Mark Arceta had died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the same medical campus where he was headed to work for his job in animal science research. It was his final work shift before beginning a four-week paternity.

Arceta's family says Friday afternoon his son Dylan was born healthy.

"Of course he's very happy. Maybe he will visit Dylan always," Alejandra Arceta said.

Police arrested seven of the alleged thieves, including five who they say were in the vehicle that crashed into Mark Arceta's car.

"They took away the life of a very good person," Alejandra Arceta said.

Area detectives and the Major Accident Investigation Unit are investigating. Charges are pending.

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