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Chicago mother of 7 killed in hit-and-run; family still searching for answers
Nearly two years after Tanja Safforld was killed in a Chicago hit-and-run, her children are continuing their own search for the driver as police say the case remains suspended.
CHICAGO - Nearly two years after a hit-and-run driver killed a Chicago mother of seven, her children are still searching for the person responsible — and questioning whether enough was done to find them.
Tanja Safforld, 54, was struck and killed on Nov. 20, 2024, just before 6 p.m. near Western Avenue and Marquette Road.
Surveillance video obtained by the family shows Safforld walking through a nearby Shell gas station parking lot toward a Dollar General shortly before she was hit.
The driver kept going and 911 calls began pouring in.
"I saw that this car like passed by and then it ran away... it didn't stop and this lady is like in the ground... she was hit by a car," one caller told a dispatcher.
"This car hit a lady right here," another caller said.
A family begins its own search
The backstory:
Safforld’s son, Damion Martin, says his family’s grief quickly became a search for answers.
Martin walked the neighborhood, put up flyers, talked with witnesses and went business-to-business looking for surveillance cameras.
"I did a lot more work than a detective," Martin said.
Martin says a witness eventually contacted him and accompanied him to Kingdom Chevrolet, where they obtained surveillance video.
"The witness called me... we went into Kingdom Chevy together... you see him driving... and then merging... and then he hit her," Martin said.
Martin later filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking 911 calls and video evidence connected to his mother’s death.
One caller told 911 they saw a small four-door Honda and described the vehicle as gray or possibly another similar color. The caller also offered a description of the driver, while acknowledging uncertainty about what they saw.
Martin says he then began comparing video from city POD cameras with surveillance footage obtained from a nearby dealership.
Video reviewed by FOX Chicago shows a gray four-door sedan traveling northbound after the deadly crash. About two minutes later, a similar-looking vehicle can be seen traveling in the opposite direction.
About a month after Safforld was killed, Chicago police released a bulletin asking the public for help identifying the vehicle.
From ‘active and open’ to suspended
Dig deeper:
On Jan. 28, 2025, Safforld’s family put its concerns in writing.
In an email, the family detailed its own efforts — including distributing flyers, contacting businesses, organizing vigils and petitions and using social media — while asking police for what they called a "sense of urgency."
The detective responded that same day: "This case remains active and open."
But Martin says his interactions with the investigation left him frustrated.
"First day... he's saying, ‘You trying to make me do my job. You trying to tell me how to do my job,’" Martin recalled. "He used to hang up the phone in my face."
That is Martin’s account of those conversations.
Five months later, another email brought a different update. The detective wrote that "all investigative avenues" had been pursued to the fullest extent and there were no new leads or actionable evidence.
The case was suspended.
Chicago police confirms case remains suspended
Chicago police confirmed to FOX Chicago that the investigation remains suspended, meaning it cannot proceed further at this time.
CPD says a case can be suspended for a variety of reasons, including detectives exhausting all leads currently available. The status is not permanent and can change if new information becomes available.
But Safforld’s family questions how every investigative avenue could have been exhausted when they say they were the ones knocking on doors and searching businesses for surveillance video.
Martin says the family recently emailed investigators again looking for an update.
"We haven't heard from him since last July," he said.
Martin says he was particularly troubled after visiting businesses near the crash scene and being told, according to him, that police had not come inside seeking information.
"It really hurt," Martin said. "All the stores said they didn't come into the store. No stores said the police came into the stores. Not even this Dollar General."
FOX Chicago has asked CPD to detail which businesses detectives canvassed, which surveillance cameras were checked, when those steps were taken and what investigative work supports the determination that all investigative avenues were pursued.
"I shouldn't have been doing this on myself," Martin said.
‘She just didn't deserve this’
What they're saying:
For Safforld’s children, every records request, flyer, email and surveillance video search has happened while they are also grieving their mother.
"I'm grieving, but then it's like, I have to put my big girl panties on and I gotta go and get justice for my mom," Safforld’s daughter Brittany said. "I feel like they're treating her like she's the Jane Doe... instead of Tanja Safforld."
Nearly two years after her death, her family is still searching for the person who drove away that November night.
"My mom, she just didn't deserve this," Brittany said. "She didn't, and it's just not fair, it's not fair."
Do you know who hit Tanja Safforld?
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 as investigators hope new information will generate a lead and allow the case to move forward again.
Anyone with information can submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com.
The Source: The information in this report came from interviews with Tanja Safforld's family, Chicago police, 911 calls, surveillance video, police records, emails shared by the family, and Crime Stoppers.