Early Monday morning, a 72-year-old man was fatally struck by a pickup truck on DuSable Lake Shore Drive near the Museum Campus, leading to extended lane closures and significant traffic delays, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The incident happened around 5:10 a.m., when the victim, standing in the median on the 1100 block of North DuSable Lake Shore Drive, was hit by a northbound Dodge Ram pickup who had a green light at the time.
According to Chicago police, the pedestrian was declared dead at the scene. The driver of the Dodge Ram, a 26-year-old man, stayed on site and declined medical attention. This resulted in all northbound lanes being shut down at Roosevelt Road to thoroughly and swiftly investigate the incident, causing traffic to pile up during the morning rush hour.
NBC Chicago detailed that by 6:35 a.m., traffic reporter Lisa Chavarria noted extensive backups, describing traffic as being at a "standstill," with congestion extending as far back as the Stevenson Expressway. Chavarria recommended taking an exit at 31st Street to circumvent the heavy traffic.
The disruption caused significant alterations in the flow of traffic. Both northbound and southbound lanes were closed at Roosevelt, and the inbound Stevenson ramp to DuSable Lake Shore Drive was also blocked off. The lanes were not to finally reopen until just before 9 a.m. In light of this situation, visual accounts from the scene, captured by NBC 5 photographer George Mycyck, showed police officers laboring to direct vehicles amidst the dense traffic snarl.
No other injuries have been reported in relation to the crash. Further details about the incident have not been provided as inquiries are ongoing.
