Police searching for Jeep in Near North Side fatal hit-and-run

Police are looking for the driver of a Jeep who fatally struck a 23-year-old man early Sunday as he was crossing the street on the Near North Side.

About 4 a.m., Phillip Levato was in a crosswalk at the intersection of West Chicago Avenue and North LaSalle Street when he was struck by the white Jeep, which was speeding south on LaSalle at the time, according to Chicago Police.

Levato was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:35 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 1300 block of West 32nd Place.

The SUV, described as a white 2016 Jeep Compass with Indiana license plate BU3440, was last seen heading south on LaSalle, police said.

The police Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating. Anyone with information about the crash or the Jeep is asked to call (312) 745-4521.

Levato’s father, 48-year-old Phillip M. Levato, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in September for the death of 45-year-old Kristopher Weiss in the South Side Bridgeport neighborhood.

Weiss had been in a fight with Levato and another man, who was not charged, on the night of July 22 in the 3000 block of South Normal. One of the men punched Weiss in the face, causing him to fall backward and hit his head, authorities said.

Weiss died at Stroger Hospital two days later on July 24, authorities said. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide by blunt force head injuries.

Levato, of the 2500 block of West 36th Street, turned himself in to police and was charged.

Police said there is no reason to believe that Levato was intentionally struck, and it is being treated as a traffic-related death.

Police are searching for the driver of a 2016 Jeep Compass, similar to the one pictured above, who fatally struck a pedestrian early Sunday on the Near North Side. | Chicago Police