Woman fatally struck in Lawndale hit-and-run identified

A woman fatally struck by an SUV last week while crossing a street in the West Side Lawndale neighborhood has been identified as a 35-year-old South Side resident.

About 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1, a Chevrolet Trailblazer was southbound in the 1300 block of South Kedzie when it struck a woman who was walking in a crosswalk, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Karonda Hill-Meyers was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead at 7:33 p.m., authorities said. An autopsy Thursday found the Englewood resident died of multiple injuries from being struck by a vehicle, and her death was ruled an accident.

The driver of the SUV, 48-year-old Jesse Gather, drove off after the crash, but was arrested less than a half-mile away in the 3400 block of West Douglas, police said.

He was charged with felony counts of reckless homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Gather, of the 700 block of South Kedzie, was ordered on a $300,000 bond Saturday, according to police and the Cook County sheriff’s office. He is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 22.