66-year-old woman killed in hit-and-run crash in West Town crosswalk was pastor's wife, church says

Chicago police searching for 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team and Ravi Baichwal WLS logo
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Woman, 66, killed in hit-and-run crash in West Side crosswalk ID'd
A 66-year-old woman, Halyna Hudzan, was killed in a hit-and-run crash Friday on N. Oakley Boulevard in West Town, Chicago police and her church said.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash in a crosswalk on the city's West Side on Friday morning, Chicago police said.

The victim was the wife of a former pastor at a church in Ukrainian Village. The church community is now pleading for the person responsible to come forward.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Police said the crash happened in the West Town neighborhood's 700 block of North Oakley Boulevard just after 8:45 a.m.

A 66-year-old woman was crossing the street when a 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross turned into the crosswalk and struck her, police said.

The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The victim was later identified as 66-year-old Halyna Hudzan of Chicago, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said.

A local community was in mourning Friday night.

"She's a great person, and to have her life taken so tragically... it's just devastating," one person said.

The crash happened blocks from St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, where her husband, a pastor, served for years.

"She was truly a priest's wife," said Phyllis Muryn Zaparaniuk, Administrative Specialist at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. "Priests' wives have a lot to do in the community. They have a lot to do in the church. They're there to support their husbands, and they're there to set an example for the community. And she did that in every aspect you can imagine."

Church officials said Hudzan was known for always being willing to help.

"She sang in our church choir," Zaparaniuk said. "Banquets and things that we... programs we put on here, she was actively helping in that."

Even after Hudzan's husband transferred to a parish near South Bend, they continued to live in Chicago and give back.

"When people came from Ukraine during the war, she was willing to help and do what she could to support these people, comfort these people, having come from Ukraine herself," Zaparaniuk said.

The church is now praying for justice.

"For someone to just mow her down and run away, I hope they never have to experience what the people now are experiencing. Especially her family and her grandchildren," Zaparaniuk said.

The driver fled the scene of the crash, and no one is in custody. Detectives are investigating.

Police did not immediately provide further information about the crash.

INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER Track crime and safety in your neighborhood

Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.