A 29-year-old Chicago man has been arrested in connection with a December 2024 hit-and-run that killed a 77-year-old man on the city’s South Side, closing in on a case that had lingered for nearly a year.
Police say the deadly collision happened on Dec. 26, 2024, in the 1500 block of East 79th Street in the Avalon Park neighborhood. The suspect now faces multiple felony counts, including leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, failing to report an accident involving death and possession of a controlled substance.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, Chicago police identified the suspect as Rayshad Harris. He was arrested around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the 8500 block of South Oglesby Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood. The outlet reports that investigators tied Harris to the Dec. 26 crash and listed the three felony counts against him, citing information from the Chicago Police Department.
Investigation and citywide context
Police did not immediately say how they identified Harris as a suspect in the case or what specific evidence led to his arrest.
Fatal hit-and-runs have remained a stubborn problem across Chicago. Streetsblog Chicago documented multiple hit-and-run pedestrian deaths in 2024 and maintains a running fatality tracker for surface-street crashes. Traffic-safety advocates have repeatedly pointed to speeding on wide arterial roads and gaps in enforcement as ongoing challenges in preventing deadly collisions.
What charges mean under Illinois law
Harris is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing, where a judge will decide whether he should remain in custody while the case moves forward. Prosecutors will determine whether to formally proceed on the felony counts listed so far.
Under Illinois law, any driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death must stop and remain at the scene, render aid and report the collision to authorities. Those duties are spelled out in the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-401), which allows prosecutors to pursue felony charges and driver’s-license consequences for failing to report or leaving the scene of a serious crash. Those provisions provide the legal framework for the counts Harris is facing, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago.
What’s next
At Thursday’s detention hearing, the court is expected to review what evidence authorities have gathered so far and decide whether Harris will be held as the case proceeds. Future filings and public records in the case will show whether prosecutors stick with the current set of charges or seek to add or upgrade counts as the investigation continues.
