World War II veteran hit, killed by car
Arthur E. Tidd of Arlington Heights spent World War II serving his country.
He spent the remainder of his life serving his family.
His son, Mike Tidd, called his father a good and loving man who provided for his family and a U.S. Navy veteran who never sought credit for his service.
Arthur Tidd, 86, was walking back Saturday night to the Arlington Heights home he has owned since 1970, crossing Algonquin Road between Market Place Drive and Kennicott Drive, when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle. He had just finished enjoying evening coffee with friends at McDonald's, his son said. Tidd died Sunday morning at Northwest Community Hospital.
"His backyard just about abuts Algonquin Road," said Arlington Heights police Sgt. Richard Kappelman. "It was apparently a common habit for him to walk off the back of his property across the street to the McDonald's and back."
"He had a group that he hung out with, to discuss world events and solve all the world's problems," Mike Tidd said.
Police said the victim was crossing from the south side of Algonquin Road to the north side just east of Market Place Drive. He was struck by a 2003 Jeep Wrangler driven by a 32-year-old Schaumburg man who was traveling west in the curb lane.
Police said the roadway was lit, but there is no designated crosswalk in the area.
Kappelman said Rolling Meadows police and fire officials responded to a 911 call from an unknown caller on a cell phone at 8:18 p.m. Saturday before turning over jurisdiction to Arlington Heights.
Rolling Meadows Fire took Tidd to Northwest Community Hospital, where he died at 9:05 a.m. Sunday.
Mike Tidd said his father served in the South Pacific in World War II.
"He was a Seabee, and they ended up going on an island that was supposedly cleared of the Japanese. It wasn't, and he won several medals for bravery as a result," Tidd said.
Tidd said his father was very patriotic but rarely spoke about the war.
"He quoted Franklin Roosevelt: 'I have seen war (and) I hate war,'" Tidd said.
Tidd's daughter, Peggy Gallegos, said her father worked for International Telephone & Telegraph Co. for 40 years.
"He was a very sweet, easygoing, good-hearted guy," Gallegos said.
"He was an assembler, a blue-collar guy, a proud UAW (Union of All Workers) member," Mike Tidd said. "He was a good decent hardworking man, and we are very proud of him."
The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed that an autopsy will take place today.
Kappelman said the accident is still under investigation.
The investigation will be conducted by an accident reconstructionist from the Arlington Heights Police Department. By late Sunday, there were no known independent witnesses to the crash.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident can contact Arlington Heights police at (847) 368-5300.