A woman was struck and killed by a semi truck Monday evening on the 6300-block of South Western Avenue in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, according to police. The crash happened around 6:10 p.m., and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not yet released her name or age. The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accidents Unit is handling the investigation.
Police told ABC7 Chicago that the semi was heading northbound on Western Avenue when it hit the woman, who had been standing near the street. Investigators did not immediately say whether the driver stayed at the scene, and officers had no additional details to share at the time.
Deadly Crash On A Major Southwest Side Artery
Western Avenue is one of the city’s longest streets, running north to south, and carries a mix of neighborhood traffic and heavy commercial trucks through residential blocks. As the Chicago Sun-Times recently reported, Chicago has already missed its Vision Zero target of eliminating traffic deaths by 2026, and advocates say busy arterial roads like Western still lack the safety upgrades they need.
Big Rigs, Bigger Risks For People On Foot
Local coverage and traffic safety advocates have pointed to a series of recent cases where large trucks were involved in fatal collisions with pedestrians, fueling calls for stronger protections where freight routes cut through residential neighborhoods. Streetsblog Chicago has documented several semi-involved fatalities and argued that the pattern shows a need for safer intersection designs and tougher enforcement of truck routes.
Police have not released further information, and the investigation remains open. Anyone with information or video is asked to contact the Chicago Police Department’s Major Accidents Investigation Unit at 312-745-4521 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
