Unmarked Chicago police car hits, kills man on motorized bike in West Pullman

3 officers hospitalized after crash

Friday, July 10, 2020
West Pullman crash: Unmarked Chicago police car hits, kills man on motorized scooter on South Halsted Street
An unmarked Chicago police car fatally hit a man on a motorized scooter Wednesday night in West Pullman.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An unmarked Chicago police car struck and killed a man riding a motorized bike on the South Side Wednesday.

At about 10:30 p.m., three officers were in an unmarked car on their way to a call when they crashed into the man who was riding a motorized bike in the 11800-block of South Halsted Street, Chicago police said.

The officers were traveling south in the West Pullman neighborhood with their emergency equipment activated when they hit the 33-year-old man, police said. The mini-bike appears to have been turning onto Halsted from 118th street when it collided with the squad.

It's unclear whether officers saw the mini-bike, as this particular model doesn't appear to have front or back lights installed.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

He was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office Thursday as Mario Winters.

The three officers were seriously injured and hospitalized at Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said. They were later listed in fair condition.

A trail of debris littered the sidewalk near where the crash occurred.

A woman was eating at a nearby restaurant when the crash happened, and described what she saw.

"His lights was on, but his siren was not on. He was flying real fast ... He hit the man; the car swerved and went up in the air and the man did too. He went up in the bushes," she said.

Sun-Times Media contributed to this report.