Family of Chicago man killed in police-involved crash speaks out: 'I feel so empty'

CHICAGO - The family of a man who was struck and killed by Chicago police while riding a moped scooter is now raising questions about the officers’ actions.

Police say they were on the way to answer a call when they hit 33-year-old Mario Winters at 118th and Halsted. Police say it was an accident, but his family believes there is more to the story.

“How did you end up on the sidewalk where he was?” asked family member Crystal Thomas.

Chicago police say all of their emergency equipment was activated, but a witness tells a different story.

“He was travelling over 100 miles per hour, his light was on but the sirens weren’t. The man was on the curb right here. When he hit the man, the car swerved and the car flew and the man did too,” said the witness, who did not want to be identified.

At the scene, you could see tire marks leading from Halsted Street onto the sidewalk, with car parts and mangled metal everywhere.

“It’s no way there should be tire marks in the grass, leading to where his body was laying,” Thomas said.

Winters family says he was riding on the sidewalk and that he went for a spin on someone else’s motor bike at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night.

“We want the cameras from the body cams. Even the video the cars had, we want all of that,” Thomas said.

Three officers were seriously injured and hospitalized at Advocate Christ Medical Center. At last check, they were in fair condition.

“Why did all the police officers go to the hospital, but they left Mario there for two whole hours,” said family member Carla Foster.

Mario’s mother has had several strokes and says she wants justice.

“I feel so empty. It’s not a feeling that no one should have to feel,” said Geraldine Winters.