ELMHURST, IL – Streetlights were out in late January near the fatal crash that killed an Elmhurst woman, according to reports released late last week.
Through a public records request, Patch obtained reports from Elmhurst police and a multi-agency crash investigation team known as MERIT.
In February, Patch found Elmhurst was having trouble with its streetlights on North York Street. Until the latest reports, though, the city had not confirmed the lights were out during the crash, which was about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 26.
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As a result of the crash, a pedestrian, 74-year-old Elmhurst resident Rosemary Rice, died.
The reports said the streetlights were out from Lake Street to Grand Avenue during the dark and rainy morning. Police did not point to the non-functioning lights as a factor.
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Police said Rice was walking east across York Street at Diversey Avenue, from the Shell gas station to her apartment complex northwest of the intersection.
She was struck by a silver Toyota minivan driven by a 73-year-old man, whom police did not fault.
When officers arrived, they found Rice on the ground, with a black cane and her shoes and socks nearby, police said. A clerk at Shell told police that Rice had just bought lottery tickets, as she did most days.
Rice’s son showed up at the crash site soon after. He was heard saying he told his mother that she should not go to the gas station, police said.
According to the MERIT report, Rice crossed four lanes of traffic in an area where no crosswalk or traffic light exists.
A van turned onto York without headlights for a few seconds as Rice was in the middle of the street, the report said. The van slowed down for her.
As the Toyota minivan passed the van, it struck the pedestrian in its lane, according to the report.
The Toyota’s driver, who was distraught, told officers that he did not see Rice until she was directly in front of him. He said he had no time to brake.
After the crash, Elmhurst resident Patricia Hudson, Rice’s daughter, urged the city to take action at York and Diversey. She noted a city consultant’s safety recommendations from four years earlier.
In February 2020, former Elmhurst Mayor Pete DiCianni, then a DuPage County Board member, urged the City Council to put up a traffic light.
“Today, I am asking you to do your job and make that intersection safe,” DiCianni said at the time. “I know it’s going to cost some dollars, maybe $300,000. Sounds like a lot of money. But what’s the value of a life? What’s the value of safety? I think it’s imperative we act.”
“I ask for a traffic control light, whether it’s now or whenever we redo this corridor, but the sooner, the better because it’s only a matter of time,” DiCianni said.
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