Man, 78, dies after being struck by vehicle in Des Plaines

A 78-year-old man died early Saturday after being struck by a vehicle in northwest suburban Des Plaines.

At 5:23 p.m., Dennis Townsend was crossing Thacker Street when he was struck in the crosswalk by a vehicle turning west onto Thacker from northbound Center Street, according to Des Plaines police.

The driver, Mary Wudtke, 73, of Des Plaines, immediately stopped and waited for police to arrive.

The Des Plaines Fire Department then took Townsend, who lived in the 1400 block of Ashland Avenue in Des Plaines, to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled an accident.

Police said the investigation found Wudtke did not see the man crossing the street before she hit him. She was issued a citation for failing to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk.