Police say Wheaton man bolted into traffic

A 29-year-old man was struck and killed by a car Wednesday night when he ran into traffic in Downers Grove after being asked to leave a homeless shelter because he was intoxicated.

The man, who had lived in Wheaton, was struck by a car heading east on Butterfield Road about a half mile east of Route 53 at 7:21 p.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Dave Bormann of the Downers Grove Police Department said.

After the initial impact, the man was struck by a second car, also eastbound. He was taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he was pronounced dead, Bormann said.

Neither of the drivers will be charged, Bormann said, because investigators determined the man ran out in front of the cars.

The director of the Peace Lutheran Church in Lombard, where the man had been staying sporadically over the years, said the man was asked to leave the shelter Wednesday night because he was intoxicated.

“On Monday he met with a case manager and understood and agreed that if he was too intoxicated he would not be coming to our site, said Carol Simler, executive director of Public Action to Deliver Shelter.

“We have to ensure in our sites the safety of our staff, volunteers and certainly the other clients, Simler said, explaining the shelter's alcohol policy.

After arriving at the shelter at 21W500 Butterfield Road in Lombard, he left based on his previous agreement but became agitated by another person outside the shelter before bolting into traffic, Simler said.

Simler said the man had been away from the shelter for the past three months but had asked to be readmitted to the night program last week.

“This young man had been battling the disease of alcoholism for most of his adult life, Simler said. “When he wasn't intoxicated, he was a man with a large heart.