Car jumps curb, kills 38-year-old man walking on sidewalk then crashes into airplane hangar near Midway

CHICAGO — A car jumped a curb after a crash, killing a 38-year-old man walking on the sidewalk before slamming into an airplane hangar late Monday night near Midway International Airport.

Chicago police say three cars were involved in the crash, which happened around 11:15 p.m. in the 5200 block of West 63rd Street, in the Clearing neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side. Witnesses say two of the three cars were speeding down the street when the crash started.

According to police, a preliminary investigation showed that a white Infiniti sedan was going west on W. 63rd St. when it sideswiped a black Infiniti sedan that was also going west. After those vehicles made contact, one then hit a white Nissan sedan that was going in the same direction.

It was the white Infiniti, police say, that subsequently jumped the curb and hit the 38-year-old male pedestrian. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, police say the white Infiniti finally came to a stop when it crashed a building. That was an airplane hangar of Atlantic Aviation, the car leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

The man driving the Infiniti was taken to an area hospital in fair condition, according to police, while an adult female passenger in the car was taken to an area hospital with unknown injuries. Her condition was also not known, police say.

According to police, the other three people involved in the crash—a man driving the black Infiniti, a female passenger in that car, and a man driving the white Nissan—were all uninjured.

West 63rd St. was closed in both directions after being shut down for several hours after the crash, but it has since reopened.

Police say citations are pending, and Area One detectives are investigating the crash.

Fast-moving traffic concerns Southwest Side residents

Residents on the southern edge of Midway airport told WGN News they’re accustomed to air traffic noise. But the sound of last night’s multi-vehicle car crash jolted people out of bed.

“Sounds like ‘The Fast and the Furious’ going down 63^rd Street,” said one longtime Clearing homeowner who declined to be identified by WGN News.

The homeowner revealed that all too often, she witnesses cars drag racing at dangerous speeds late at night. 

“Can’t sleep with your window open because you hear it all night,” she added.

Others WGN News spoke with shared a similar story, expressing worries over the safety of joggers and walkers. 

“People jog around the airport all night long,” another resident said.

Chicago Alderman Marty Quinn (13th Ward) weighed in on the problem of drag racing in a written statement, saying, “The 13th Ward has been a hotspot for drag racing and drifting, which is one of the many reasons I’ve been pushing for a new police district for the Southwest Side, where we have the fewest number of police officers per capita in the entire city.”