Des Plaines woman hit by car dies
A 70-year-old Des Plaines woman struck by a car last week while crossing a street in the city's downtown died from her injuries Sunday, authorities said.
Irma Diaz was pronounced dead at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where she'd been listed in critical condition since the crash Thursday afternoon, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Her death was ruled an accident.
Des Plaines police said Diaz was crossing Miner Street near Pearson Street at 1:44 p.m. Thursday when she was struck by a westbound vehicle. The vehicle's 88-year-old driver, Veronica Kiefer of Des Plaines, later was ticketed for driving on an expired license and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a roadway, police said.
Police Investigations Cmdr. Randy Akin said Monday police would be contacting the Cook County state's attorney's office for a legal opinion on whether the charges would be upgraded, though right now they are only listed as traffic offenses.
The crash was one of two involving cars striking people Thursday afternoon on that stretch of Miner Street. About two hours after Diaz was hit, two 13-year-old girls riding their bikes across Miner were hit by an eastbound car. One of the girls suffered a skull fracture, and the other suffered a fractured clavicle, according to police. The driver, 32-year-old Sabina Sultana of Chicago, was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a roadway and failure to exercise due caution.
The drivers in both crashes must appear in traffic court in Skokie, and they could face fines, Akin said.