Rideshare driver killed in shooting near UIC campus: 'He was a loving and wonderful person'

CHICAGO - A rideshare driver was killed and his passenger was wounded in a shooting near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus Monday night on the Near West Side.

Milton Pillacella-Ayora, 31, was stopped at a red light with a 34-year-old passenger around 9 p.m. near the corner of Roosevelt Road and Blue Island Avenue when an SUV pulled up and people inside started shooting, officials said.

Pillacella-Ayora, 31 suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and was transported to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. 

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His passenger, a 34-year-old man, was shot in the legs and was also taken to Stroger where he was listed in fair condition, according to officials.

Pillacella-Ayora was the oldest of four siblings and lived with his younger brother, according to his stepmother Rosanita Leon, 55.

"He was a loving and wonderful person that was very hardworking," Leon said. "He was not the kind of person to get involved with the wrong people."

Leon said Pillacella-Ayora had told her he had plans to buy a house after saving up for years.

"He came to this country as an immigrant and worked so hard to achieve his dreams," Leon said. "One never knows when your life will be cut short."

No one is in custody as Area Three detectives investigate.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.