Family members identified the dead rider as 18-year-old Damian Gomez, who they said was making food deliveries when he was struck on the Southwest Side.
CHICAGO, IL — A bicyclist was killed and a 22-year-old woman was critically injured early Sunday after a driver in a red SUV sped through a red light at 63rd Street and Kedzie Avenue, hit the rider and another vehicle, then ran from the scene, police said.
The crash drew attention across Chicago Lawn and nearby Marquette Park because it left one young man dead, badly hurt a passenger in the SUV and again raised questions about hit-and-run driving on city streets. Police said the case remained under investigation Monday, with no public arrest announced, as family members mourned the bicyclist and authorities worked to identify and find the driver.
Police said the chain of events began about 1:20 a.m. Sunday in the 6300 block of South Kedzie Avenue, near the intersection with West 63rd Street. Investigators said a man driving a red SUV eastbound ignored a traffic signal and entered the intersection at high speed. The SUV struck a man riding a bicycle, then collided with a silver vehicle that was traveling south through the intersection. The bicyclist died at the scene. Family members later identified him as Damian Gomez, 18. Gomez’s aunt told CBS Chicago that he had graduated from Hubbard High School last summer and had been riding his bicycle while making DoorDash deliveries to earn extra money. Police said the SUV then crashed into a pole. Before officers arrived, the driver got out and fled on foot, leaving behind the wrecked vehicle, injured people and a large crime scene that kept part of Kedzie closed for hours.
The 22-year-old woman in the SUV was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said. Authorities have not publicly said whether she was wearing a seat belt, how badly she was hurt inside the vehicle or whether investigators have been able to interview her. A 60-year-old woman in the silver car was treated at the scene and did not require a hospital stay, according to police accounts carried by local news outlets. Police have not released the name of the fleeing driver, and they have not said Monday whether they know who owned the SUV, whether it was stolen or whether alcohol, drugs or speed beyond the initial description played a role. Investigators also have not publicly described the bicyclist’s direction of travel, whether he was in a marked crossing area or lane, or whether any traffic cameras, business cameras or private video captured the crash. Those unanswered questions are central to the next stage of the case because they could shape any criminal charges and any civil claims that follow.
The intersection sits along a busy Southwest Side corridor that carries drivers, bus riders, cyclists and pedestrians between Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park and nearby commercial blocks. Early Sunday, that mix turned deadly in seconds. Local reporting cited a Strong Town Chicago data map showing dozens of crashes within 300 feet of 63rd and Kedzie in recent years, including many hit-and-run incidents. That history does not explain this crash by itself, but it adds to the concern neighbors and street-safety advocates often raise about wide intersections, late-night speeding and red-light violations on major arterials. The timing also sharpened the impact. The collision happened on Easter Sunday, when many families were preparing for church services, visits or holiday meals only hours later. For Gomez’s relatives, the holiday became the day they learned an 18-year-old family member would not be coming home. Family accounts also gave the story a fuller picture of the victim, describing a recent high school graduate trying to make money through deliveries rather than simply a name in a police summary.
As of Monday, police had publicly described the case as an open hit-and-run investigation and had not announced charges. In cases like this, detectives typically work through vehicle records, witness interviews, camera footage, crash reconstruction and forensic evidence recovered from the scene and the abandoned vehicle before presenting findings to prosecutors. The Major Accidents investigation process can also involve reviewing signal timing, skid marks, damage patterns and any digital evidence that may show the SUV’s route before and after the collision. If the driver is identified, potential allegations could include leaving the scene of a crash involving death or great bodily harm, along with other traffic or criminal counts depending on what investigators find. None of those steps had been detailed publicly by Monday morning, and police had not announced a briefing, a court date or a request for public help beyond the basic case information released after the crash. The most immediate milestone is the identification and arrest of the driver, followed by any charging decision from prosecutors once investigators complete their initial review.
At the scene, the aftermath stretched well beyond the first impact. A bicycle rider lay dead, one vehicle occupant fought for her life and another driver was left shaken but alive, while the person police say caused the crash disappeared into the dark. Television crews reported that part of Kedzie stayed shut down for roughly eight hours while police documented the wreckage and cleared the roadway. That extended closure signaled both the severity of the crash and the amount of evidence officers believed they needed to collect. Gomez’s aunt gave the public one of the few personal details released so far, saying he had recently finished high school and was using his bike to deliver food for extra income. That description turned the story from a brief police notice into a portrait of an 18-year-old at the start of adult life. By late Monday, the broad outline of the crash was clear, but the identity of the driver, the reason for the flight and the full medical outlook for the injured woman were still unresolved.
Police were still investigating Monday, with no public arrest announced and the driver still unidentified. The next key development is likely to be either a police release naming a suspect or an update on charges once detectives finish reviewing evidence from the intersection, the abandoned SUV and any available surveillance video.
Author note: Last updated April 6, 2026.