Estate of bicyclist killed in West Side crash sues realty company

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An image released by police shows the white cargo van that fatally struck Francisco Cruz, 58, on Aug. 17 in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. | Chicago Police

The estate of a bicyclist killed in an August hit-and-run crash in the West Garfield Park neighborhood filed suit Tuesday against the company that owned the van that struck him and its unidentified driver.

Kevon Williams, special administrator to the estate of 58-year-old Francisco Cruz, was seeking more than $50,000 in the wrongful death suit against Advanced Realty Network and the unidentified driver of the company van who struck him, according to the lawsuit.

Cruz was riding a bicycle south at 10:19 p.m. Aug. 17 on Pulaski Road when he was struck by a white van making a left turn onto Maypole Avenue, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The van drove away westbound on Maypole after the crash.

Cruz, who lived in the 1300 block of South Christiana, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy found he died of multiple injuries he suffered in the crash and his death was ruled an accident.

The vehicle that hit him was a white cargo van with a company logo on it, police said. An image of the white van released by police showed a phone number associated with Advanced Realty Network, located at 2427 W. Madison St.

An investigation by the Major Accidents Investigations Unit was ongoing and no arrests have been made, police said.

The suit claimed the unidentified driver and Advanced Realty Network were negligent when the van struck Cruz and the driver left after the crash, according to the suit.

A message left with Advanced Realty Network for comment was not immediately returned.

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