Chicago teen cyclist killed in hit-and-run; driver still being sought

Chicago teen cyclist killed in hit-and-run; driver still being sought

A bicyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Chicago's Southwest Side has been identified as police search for the driver.

CHICAGO - A bicyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Chicago's Southwest Side has been identified as police search for the driver.

What we know:

Family members told Fox Chicago that 18-year-old Damian Gomez was struck and killed while riding his bike early Sunday morning in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

The backstory:

Chicago police said the crash happened around 1:20 a.m. in the 6300 block of South Kedzie Avenue.

A red 2015 Ford Explorer driven by an unknown male was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed and disregarded a traffic signal, police said. The SUV hit Gomez and then collided with a silver car that was traveling southbound.

A 22-year-old woman riding in the red SUV was taken to Christ Hospital with injuries and listed in critical condition, while a 60-year-old woman in the silver car was treated at the scene.

What they're saying:

On Monday, Fox Chicago spoke with Gomez's mother, Claudia Torres, who said her son was on his last food delivery for DoorDash. Around 12:30 a.m., Torres said she spoke with her son, who said he was going to come home after the delivery. 

Torres said her son will usually call her when he's on his way home. That never happened. She called him multiple times in the early morning hours of Easter, but he never picked up and never came back home. 

Later that morning, she called him again, but this time, a Chicago police officer answered, who told her that she needed to come to the police station.

"He was a good brother, good son, my hero, my world, my life," said Torres. "He wanted to find a job and start providing and being responsible."

Torres said her son graduated from Hubbard High School last year and was going to be turning 19 in June. On top of working as food delivery driver for DoorDash, Torres said her son also worked as a security guard. She said her son was beginning to find his way and considered himself 'the man of the house.'

"I had so many plans, I was going to take them out and spend time with them, celebrate, be together," said Torres, describing what they had planned for Easter Sunday. 

This tragedy is also impacting Gomez's aunt, Natalia Torres. 

"My heart is shaking, it has shattered the same way that my sister, she feels a pain in her heart," said Natalia Torres. "I'm angry. I want justice. I want the person that did this for my nephew. I want him to pay. He needs to be arrested for what he did, running away. You could run away, but we're going to find you."

What's next:

CPD’s Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating the crash. CPD has not identified the suspect in this fatal hit-and-run crash. 

We also are waiting to see if the passenger, who was in the red SUV, is cooperating with police.