Woman charged with fatal hit-and-run crash near 69th Street Red Line

A woman is charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash in May that killed one man and injured another in Englewood.

The woman, identified as Jaliyah Armstrong of the South Chicago neighborhood, is charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Chicago Police.

Armstrong was ordered held on $100,000 bail during a hearing Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. Prosecutors said they expect to additionally charge Armstrong with reckless homicide in the case.

The crash happened about 4 a.m. May 14, Assistant State’s Attorney David Shin said in court. Armstrong was driving a Nissan Murano north when she struck 57-year-old Tyrone Fizer and another man as they walked to work in the 6900 block of South Lafayette Avenue.

At the time of the crash, Armstrong was driving 74 mph as she chased another vehicle, whose occupant she had been involved in an earlier confrontation with, Shin said. After striking the men, she crashed into a concrete wall near the 69th Street Red Line station and abandoned the vehicle, Shin said.

Fizer, of Englewood, was thrown into a grassy median near the ramp from southbound Interstate 94 to 71st Street, according to police. About 10 hours later, Illinois State Police were called about a body seen in the grass of the median. The investigation was handed over to Chicago Police.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has still not released a ruling on the cause and manner of Fizer’s death as of Tuesday, according to records.

The other man who was struck was taken to a hospital, Shin said.

Authorities released photos taken from video surveillance of people running away from the scene after the crash and asked the public to provide information. According to Shin, the photos aided in the investigation.

Armstrong was taken into custody Monday afternoon during a traffic stop in the 7600 block of South Vincennes Avenue, according to her arrest report. She was seen not wearing her seat belt while riding in a vehicle and the officer discovered she was wanted on an investigative alert in connection with the crash.

Judge John F. Lyke Jr. set her bail at $100,000, but told prosecutors to pick a next court date within a week when her bail could be re-evaluated.

Armstrong was scheduled to appear in court next July 23.