30-year-old woman dies after being struck by vehicle in East Chicago

A 30-year-old woman died six days after she was struck by a vehicle in northwest Indiana.

About 4:20 p.m. Oct. 6, a patrol officer was flagged down by a witness who said a woman was lying in the street in the 3700 block of Parrish Avenue, according to East Chicago Police Lt. Marguerite Wilder.

The woman was surrounded by a crowd of people attempting to render aid, Wilder said. She had abrasions to her face and hand, and was holding her body while moaning in pain.

Someone in the crowd shouted that the vehicle that struck her was a red Chevrolet Traverse, possibly driven by the woman’s boyfriend, Wilder said.

Luz Elena Arias, 30, was initially taken to St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, but was later transferred to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she died at 10:02 p.m. Oct. 12, according to Wilder and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy found the East Chicago resident died of multiple blunt force injuries from being struck by a vehicle, and her death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. T. Fife at (219) 391-8318.