Family suing driver, Aldi for fatal crash with bicyclist on SW Side

The family of a woman fatally struck by a vehicle while riding her bike last month in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the Southwest Side is suing the driver and the Aldi chain of grocery stores.

About 8 a.m. Oct. 30, Lisa Schalk, 50, was riding east on South Archer Avenue when she was struck by a vehicle that was also heading east and turning onto South Lorel Avenue, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Schalk was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead at 8:43 a.m., authorities said. She lived in the same neighborhood.

The driver of the vehicle, a 79-year-old man, was cited for failure to take due care for a pedestrian in the roadway, police said. He is scheduled to appear in traffic court Dec. 14.

Lisa Schalk’s mother, Joan Schalk, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court and seeks at least $50,000 in damages from the driver, according to court documents.

The suit claims the man who struck Schalk didn’t come to a complete stop before entering the crosswalk and drove too close to her.

The suit also seeks at least $50,000 in damages from Aldi and claims the driver was working as an employee of the grocery store chain when Schalk was hit.

A representative for Aldi did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.