The family of a 4-year-old girl whose death in a 2006 hit-and-run accident near Lincoln Park Zoo became a rallying point for traffic safety advocates has reached a settlement in a civil lawsuit against the city, their lawyer says.
Lawyers for the city and the family of Maya Hirsch, struck while crossing the street at Lincoln Park West and Belden Avenue, canceled a civil trial that was set to begin Tuesday, said Brian Eldridge, the Hirsches’ attorney.
Eldridge said he would not comment on the agreement until after a joint statement from the family and city is released. The city Law Department did not respond to phone and email messages from the Tribune on Monday.
Maya’s parents, David Hirsch and Danit Steinbach Hirsch, had sued the city, claiming stop signs and other traffic control markings at the intersection were improperly placed or had deteriorated because of neglect.
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Also named in the suit was the estate of David Roth, the 57-year-old driver who struck Maya, her mother and her then-5-year-old brother with his vehicle, then drove off even as witnesses shouted at him to stop. Roth, who once worked as a driving instructor and had a record of traffic offenses, died in prison in 2008 while serving an eight-year sentence for leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The Hirsches also settled with the Roth estate.
Nearly 1,000 people attended Maya’s funeral, and her family founded a not-for-profit group called Stop for Maya to raise money and awareness of traffic safety issues. A year after the crash, the city reconfigured the crossing, which had been the subject of safety complaints for years.