Relatives of a 34-year-old man fatally struck in a hit-and-run accident in the Avondale neighborhood say he had planned to visit his mother’s grave the day he was killed.
About three dozen family members and friends gathered Monday night at Milwaukee and Belmont avenues to remember Christopher Sanchez with a small memorial of flowers, candles and balloons, one of which read “Mi corazon se fue contigo,” or “My heart went with you.”
Family members from as far away as Mexico are expected to travel to Chicago for funeral services later this week, Sanchez’s cousin Maria Cartage said.
“He was always very dedicated to family,” Cartage said. “It didn’t matter what, he was game. He always had a smile, always willing to show up.”
Sanchez was walking across the street at Milwaukee and Belmont at 5:20 a.m. Sunday when he was hit by a white Ford SUV, according to police and family members. He was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead Sunday morning, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
According to Chicago Fire Media information, the man was thrown about 30 feet in the air.
Sanchez was living with his father nearly a mile away in the 3100 block of North Sawyer Avenue, where he had lived since he was 5 years old. He worked as a mechanic at a local Chevrolet dealership, and had planned to attend the Chicago Auto Show with his brother on Sunday.
“He was hardworking, smart, respectful and family-oriented,” his brother Jose Sanchez said. “He was a great guy. Everyone who knew him would say he was a great guy.”
While relatives aren’t sure why Sanchez had been walking so early, Cartage said he was known to go out for walks at odd hours because he began suffering from insomnia after his mother died from cancer in March.
“He was really struggling with the loss of his mom,” Cartage said. “Her anniversary was coming up and his big plan for yesterday was to go to see her.
“He promised (his father) they’d get up early and spend the day there. (His father) got up and was ready early, and he thought Chris was home, but police showed up at the door told him, ‘There’s been an accident.'”
Family members are hopeful surveillance cameras at nearby businesses and Lorca Elementary School will help police find the driver of the SUV. They have started a GoFundMe page to help defray funeral expenses.
Chicago police are asking anyone with information about the hit-and-run to call the department’s Major Accident Investigation Unit at 312-745-4521.
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A previous version of this story incorrectly gave the day of Sanchez’s death as Monday.