Boy, 11, killed by hit-and-run driver in Lawndale was dragged half a block, police say

A driver struck and killed an 11-year-old boy running across a street in Lawndale Thursday, dragging the child half a block before stopping briefly, then speeding away, according to police.

The boy, Jalon James, is the third child to be struck and killed by drivers in Chicago in the last two weeks.

Jalon and another child were crossing 16th Street from the mouth of one alley to another, between Homan and Christiana avenues, when the driver struck him at 10 a.m., according to a police report.

Police surveillance video shows an eastbound driver pass through a yellow light at Homan as the two children crossed the street.

One child stopped, but Jalon continued and was struck by the driver.

Jalon was dragged under the vehicle to Christiana Avenue, where he was found lying in the street, according to the police report. The driver is seen in video striking a parked vehicle and then briefly stopping, then turning north on Spaulding Avenue.

Jalon was taken by paramedics to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He lived less than a block away from where he was hit.

Officers found the wanted vehicle abandoned later that morning on another street in Lawndale, according to police. Someone had removed the vehicle’s license plates and had discarded a face mask, which police collected as evidence.

Police said no one was in custody as of Friday morning.

Two other children have been killed by drivers in Chicago in the last two weeks.

On June 9, 3-year-old Lily Grace died after she was run over by a semi driver in Uptown. She was riding in her mother’s bike carrier and fell under the wheels of the truck.

On June 2, 2-year-old Rafi Cardenas was struck and killed by a driver while riding a mini-scooter in Lincoln Square.