Woman fatally struck by SUV in University Park

A 36-year-old woman died after she was struck by an SUV early Saturday near south suburban University Park.

Enjole Short was found lying unresponsive on Western Avenue near Valley View Place at 3:45 a.m., according to the Will County sheriff’s office.

Short and a friend had been at a party earlier and were dropped off on Old Western Avenue in Park Forest to walk home, according to the sheriff’s office. They crossed over the large raised median to walk south in the southbound lanes of Western when she was struck by the SUV.

Short, of the 900 block of Morningside Drive in University Park, was taken to Franciscan St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, where she was pronounced dead at 4:25 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Sunday found that she died of multiple blunt force injuries from being struck by a vehicle, and her death was ruled an accident.

The driver of the SUV, a 45-year-old man, immediately stopped and called 911, according to the sheriff’s office. He told police he was on his way to work in the dark when the victim “seemed to appear out of nowhere.” A breathalyzer test found he had not been drinking. No charges have been filed.