Death of woman struck and dragged by vehicle in Austin ruled homicide

The death of a woman who was struck by a vehicle and dragged last month in the West Side Austin neighborhood has been ruled a homicide.

Naisha Weems, 27, was struck and dragged during an argument at 5:06 p.m. May 17 in the 300 block of North Latrobe, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

She was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died at 8:54 p.m.

Autopsy results were initially listed as pending, but on Friday, the medical examiner’s office said Weems died from multiple blunt force injuries due to a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian. The death was ruled a homicide.

Police at the time said a 28-year-old woman, whose identity was known to investigators, got into an argument that evening, then got into a vehicle and struck multiple people as she drove off.

No one else sought medical treatment following the crash, authorities said.

Police said Friday that no arrests have been made in the case, and the investigation is ongoing.

Weems was the granddaugher of the late Daniel J. Weems, a retired Chicago Police detective who died in 2013. She worked for Sodexo, the food service provider for the Shedd Aquarium.