Woman killed in suburban hit-and-run crash was walking to gas station after HS reunion: family
SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. (WLS) -- The family of 20-year-old Mariyah Ford is grieving after she was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Illinois Route 394 in Lynwood. Relatives are urging the driver involved to come forward.
Loved ones described the Sauk Village woman as an outgoing and bubbly young woman who had a bright future ahead of her.
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"My daughter did not deserve that. That was my only child. I'm just lost right now," father Levi Ford said.
Family members said they are still trying to understand what happened early Monday morning.
Tanisha Denis, Ford's aunt, said the two lived together and were inseparable. According to Denis, they had attended an after-party following a high school reunion and were driving home when their vehicle ran out of gas near Joe Orr Road in Lynwood shortly before midnight.
The two decided to walk to a nearby gas station.
"We didn't get that far from the car," Denis said.
Denis said she then witnessed the crash.
"I heard the boom, and I saw something move, but it was her. That car moved her, and she flew," she said.
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Denis said she immediately rushed to help her niece.
"I'm just looking at her condition, like 'Mariyah can you hear me? Can you hear me? Like are you OK? Mariyah?'" Denis said. "And I instantly got on the phone called 911 and I started doing CPR."
According to Denis, the driver did not stop after the collision.
Illinois State Police closed all lanes of the highway while investigators examined the scene. Ford was taken to a hospital. She later died from her injuries.
On Tuesday, family members gathered to honor Ford. Relatives said she graduated from Thornridge High School last year and had earned her phlebotomy certificate.
She was the oldest of six children, and was hoping to become a nurse.
The family is urging the driver to come forward.
"We just want to know what happened so that we can move forward," said Angel Connors, Ford's aunt. "Because right now it's just like an open wound that will never be closed until the person come forward."
Denis said the vehicle involved was an SUV that did not have its lights on, making it difficult to provide a detailed description. Family members are asking anyone who witnessed the crash or has information about the hit-and-run to contact authorities.
Illinois State Police said on Tuesday the crash is still under investigation.
