Asian man fatally struck by unlicensed driver who ran stop sign in Chicago

August 31, 2022

An Asian man riding a bicycle was killed after being hit by an SUV that ran a four-way stop sign in Chicago’s Near South Side on Saturday.

Fengan Yan, 55, was pedaling west in the 400 block of West 26th Street in the neighborhood of Armour Square at around 3:35 p.m. when the SUV traveling in the same direction struck him from behind, according to reports.

Yan fell off his bike and was pinned under the vehicle, police said. He was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 4:20 p.m.

A 60-year-old woman was identified as the driver of the vehicle, a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. She was cited for failing to obey the stop sign and for driving on an expired license with no insurance.

Yan, who lived on the 200 block of West 24th Street in Chinatown, is reportedly the seventh bicyclist who has been killed on Chicago’s surface streets this year, as per records compiled by Streetsblog Chicago. The most recent prior to this one, which involved a van and another 55-year-old victim, occurred near 99th Street and Avenue L in the East Side community on Aug. 11.

Meanwhile, the city has recorded 22 pedestrian fatalities on its surface streets. Three of these incidents occurred in August, with a 5-year-old being the youngest victim.

While 26th Street has a painted bike lane, some believe more needs to be done.

“Paint is not protection. It doesn’t save you from a speeding vehicle…that isn’t following the traffic rules,” Amy Rynell, executive director at Active Transportation Alliance, told WGN News. “That painted bike lane fades as you get to the viaduct and then you have the shift from light to dark and dark to light.”

Rynell said that of Chicago’s 4,000 miles of streets, around 9% have bike paint, while only 1% is protected for safety. While her organization pushes for infrastructure change, she said drivers need to be educated as well.

“We’ve seen an epidemic of speeding and lives lost unnecessarily because of reckless driving,” Rynell told WGN News. “So we need to do different things to slow cars down.”

Chicago police’s Major Accidents unit is investigating Yan’s case.

Featured Image via WGN News

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