Death of woman in hit-and-run crash on Tri-State ruled suicide

The death of a woman who was fatally struck by a hit-and-run vehicle Sunday night on the Tri-State Tollway near south suburban Thornton was ruled a suicide.

The woman was outside of her vehicle shortly after 8 p.m. in the southbound lanes of I-294 near Halsted Street when she was struck by a passing vehicle, according to Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Nick Hasan.

Jennifer Piszczek, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:22 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy on Monday found she died of multiple injuries from the crash, and her death was ruled a suicide. Piszczek lived in southwest suburban Bolingbrook.

Hasan said the vehicle sped away after the crash. No other injuries were reported.

All lanes of the tollway were temporarily closed in the area after the crash, but everything was reopened by midnight.