Police Search For Hit-And-Run Driver Who Fatally Struck Cyclist In Garfield Park

CHICAGO — A 55-year-old man died nearly two weeks after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle on Chicago's West Side.

Detectives are searching for motorist that fatally injured the man with a blue Lincoln sedan before driving away, according to Chicago police.

John Ward was hit while riding in the 3500 block of West Washington Boulevard in the East Garfield Park neighborhood around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 24.

Ward, who lived nearby, died on Thursday, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The driver of a 1997 Lincoln Town Car continued east, leaving Ward seriously injured at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Central Park Avenue.

---

Police issued a community alert containing an image of the car and described its driver as about 50 years old and gray-bearded.

The Town Car had an Illinois license plate ES85500, and it appeared to be missing its top right screw, making it lean down to the right.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the major accident investigation unit of Chicago police eat 312-745-4521.

Ward was the first cyclist to die in connection with a traffic crash in 2024, according to a tally from Streetsblog Chicago. Seventeen pedestrians have died in fatal crashes on the city's streets so far this year. According to a police report reviewed by Streetsblog, Ward's bike was found in the protected bike lane on Central Park Avenue, which was completed last fall.

Of the dozen cyclists who died in fatal crashes in 2024 before Ward, eight have been in the suburbs, according to Ride Illinois.

That includes five bicyclists killed in a 10 mile stretch of Maine and Niles townships between Des Plaines and Skokie in north and northwest suburban Cook County, including a Chicago Transit Authority worker who was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Oakton Street on Aug. 6.