'Turn yourself in': Aunt pleads for driver after 20-year-old killed on Route 394
'Turn yourself in': Aunt pleads for driver after 20-year-old killed on Route 394
What began as a night out celebrating with family ended in tragedy for 20-year-old Mariyah Ford, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking with her aunt in the emergency lane of Illinois Route 394.
LYNWOOD, Ill. - What began as a night out celebrating with family ended in tragedy for 20-year-old Mariyah Ford, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking with her aunt in the emergency lane of Illinois Route 394.
"One minute she was here... and then she flew when he hit her," Ford’s aunt, Tanisha Dennis, told FOX 32 Chicago.
The crash happened just after midnight on Aug. 3 near Joe Orr Road in Lynwood.
Ford had spent the weekend with Dennis, helping her aunt prepare for a class reunion and attending an after-party in Chicago. Ford had also just celebrated her birthday.
"She picked out my outfit the whole weekend," Dennis recalled.
Car runs out of gas
The backstory:
The two were heading home from the after-party when their vehicle ran out of gas along southbound Illinois Route 394 near Joe Orr Road.
Dennis said they turned on flashlights and LED lights before getting out of the vehicle and walking in the emergency lane toward a nearby gas station.
They had been walking for only about two minutes when Dennis said an SUV approached with its headlights off and veered into the emergency lane.
Ford was walking closest to traffic.
The impact threw her several feet into the brush, according to Dennis.
"I hear the impact of it, and I just started screaming and took off running towards her and tried to figure out where she landed," Dennis said.
After desperately searching in the darkness, Dennis found her niece.
"I finally found her and checked her pulse and her heartbeat," Dennis said. "I started doing CPR."
The driver never stopped.
Ford was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.
"Turn yourself in"
What they're saying:
Ford's family said the Sauk Village woman was outgoing, caring and determined. She was working toward becoming a phlebotomist — a future her family says was suddenly taken away.
Dennis is now haunted by the sound of the crash and the knowledge that the person behind the wheel continued driving.
"If it was an accident, we all still have to pay for our accidents," Dennis said. "Turn yourself in."
The family believes surveillance cameras along Route 394 may have captured the SUV and hopes video or information from the public can help investigators identify the driver.
Illinois State Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
The family believes the SUV may have significant front-end damage from the impact, as they prepare to lay Mariyah Ford to rest this Friday, August 14.
What you can do:
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information about the vehicle or driver is urged to contact Illinois State Police.
The Source: The information in this report came from interviews with the family of Mariyah Ford and Illinois State Police.