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Hit-and-run driver arrested after fatally striking motorcyclist on Bishop Ford: police

Published  December 6, 2019 6:42am CST
Crime and Public Safety
Sun-Times Media Wire

Hit-and-run driver arrested after fatally striking motorcyclist on Bishop Ford, police say

A driver fatally struck a motorcyclist Friday on the Bishop Ford Freeway on the Far South Side.

CHICAGO - A driver fatally struck a motorcyclist Friday on the Bishop Ford Freeway on the Far South Side.

A passenger vehicle struck the motorcyclist about 2:15 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-94 near 111th Street, Illinois State Police said.

Eric Smith, 44, was ejected off his motorcycle and pronounced dead at a hospital, state police said.

Eric Smith

Officers found the car, which fled the scene, near the northbound Stony Island Feeder ramp, state police said. The 44-year-old male driver was also treated at a hospital.

State police initially said DUI charges were filed against the driver, but walked back those comments Friday afternoon, saying “the investigation is open and ongoing.”

Two rights lanes of I-94 were closed as authorities investigated, but all lanes were reopened at 6:36 a.m., state police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released details about the fatality.