A psychic’s unsolicited tip yanked a Chicago man back to the Marquette Park blocks he thought he had already searched to death, and it delivered a clue that shook loose a long-stalled hit-and-run investigation. Damion Martin says the message told him to look for a blue-and-yellow sign, a detail that led him to surveillance footage that a witness later identified as showing the car that struck his mother. The crash that killed 54-year-old Tanja Safforld happened at about 5:56 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2024, near 67th (Marquette) and Western, and no one has been arrested.
Martin says he posted about his search on social media, which prompted an eyewitness to reach out. The two met up and combed through surveillance video from a used-car lot, where the witness pointed to a gray four-door sedan. That discovery led police to release a new photo of the vehicle. The break came after months of dead ends and after the tip about the blue-and-yellow sign, according to CBS Chicago. Martin and his relatives say they are still pressing for answers even as the investigation drags.
Chicago police say the collision happened just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2024, and that Safforld was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Authorities issued a community alert, then released photos of a vehicle believed to be involved, and police asked anyone with information to call 312-745-4521 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com using reference JH515431, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. Family members have set up a memorial near the crash site and say they will not stop searching for justice.
How Cameras And Tips Matter
Video and eyewitness accounts are often the only way to connect a hit-and-run crash to a specific vehicle, and those tools tend to be scarce in the very places where the worst crashes happen. Streetsblog Chicago lists Safforld among dozens of people killed while walking on city streets in 2024, and the Governors Highway Safety Association reports that about one in four pedestrian deaths nationwide involves a driver who took off from the scene, according to GHSA.
Investigation Gaps And Case Status
Case records show the Major Accidents Investigation Unit detective photographed the crash scene and pulled video from nearby businesses, logging 39 hours on the case in November, another 49 hours in December, and 130 hours by February. Still, on March 2, 2025, the case was suspended. Documents also show that a license-plate reader was offline the night of the crash and that a Police Observation Device camera kept glitching, making some of the footage unusable, details reported by CBS Chicago. “We would have been getting justice,” Martin said, “because maybe, maybe the guy that did it would have turned himself in.”
Family And What’s Next
Martin and his family keep up a memorial near the intersection and release balloons to mark the anniversary of Safforld’s death, all while continuing to plead for witnesses to step forward. Police again asked anyone with information to call 312-745-4521 or send an anonymous tip through CPDTIP.com using reference JH515431, as reported by ABC7 Chicago.
