A woman was run over by the driver of a pickup truck with snow partially covering his windshield as she crossed the street with the right-of-way last week, surveillance video showed.
Around 9:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5, a 39-year-old man driving westbound on Belmont Avenue near 3200 block of North Pulaski Avenue in a Ford pickup truck with snow partially covering the windshield struck a 67-year-old woman as she entered the crosswalk with a walk signal.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC Chicago showed the woman step into the crosswalk moments before the truck driver started to turn left, crushing her in the crosswalk.
Video shows she and the truck driver approach the intersection around the same time, both heading westbound and stopping as traffic flowed on North Pulaski. For at least 30 seconds, both the woman and the driver were stopped at the intersection together prior to the collision.
After the light changed and the pedestrian right-of-way was signaled, the woman began walking into the intersection, video showed. She took at least six steps into the crosswalk before the truck driver ran her over while making a right turn.
After striking the woman, the truck stops momentarily before proceeding forward a few feet. Several witnesses ran to the truck immediately after the collision. The driver then exited the vehicle wearing a high-visibility work jacket and could be seen limping as he walked around his vehicle.
A Chicago Fire Department vehicle that was driving nearby responded to the scene within a minute of the collision, video showed.
The woman was taken to a local hospital in unknown condition, and the driver was issued a citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian, police said.
Though the driver has not been cited for the snow on his windshield, Illinois law states drivers cannot “drive a motor vehicle with snow, ice, moisture, or other material on any of the windows or mirrors, which materially obstructs the driver’s clear view.”
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