Mother dragged to death by hit-and-run driver who circled back to strike her again: police
Edgar Roman | Chicago police
CHICAGO - A driver struck a mother and daughter Monday on the Near North Side while making a U-turn, only to drive around the block and strike the mother again, dragging her to her death for a half block, according to police.
Witnesses told investigators that Edgar Roman, of Albany Park, was parked on southbound State Street at 10:30 p.m. when he made a U-turn at Hubbard Street and struck Zoraleigh Ryan, 55, and another woman, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Roman, 25, continued driving north on State, turned right on Illinois and circled back to the initial crash, striking the 55-year-old woman again, police said
Ryan, from Arizona, was dragged about half a block and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The 20-year-old woman struck in the initial crash was treated for minor abrasions.
Officers nearby tried to stop Roman but he sped off and crashed through a barricade onto Merchandise Mart Plaza, police said.
An hour later, Roman walked into the 17th District police station, 4650 N. Pulaski Rd., in Albany Park and claimed to be the victim of a carjacking, police said.
Officers recognized him as matching the description of the suspect in the fatal hit-and-run and took him in for questioning, police said. He was later charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, leaving the scene of an accident and false reporting of an incident.
Ryan’s granddaughter told a television station in Phoenix that she was an “innocent person that is just so sweet, doesn’t hurt anyone. She always makes sure everyone’s good before herself.”
Ryan’s daughter-in-law Stephanie Logue told the station, NBC affiliate KPNX, that her daughter was also hit by the driver, and suffered broken arms and ribs.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) on Tuesday claimed the hit-and-run was tied to reckless driving of looters downtown, although detectives hadn’t yet confirmed that.
A judge ordered Roman held on $2 million bail.