On Monday, when a lady was murdered by a car while walking in her Southwest Side neighborhood of Chicago, loved ones begged for improved safety measures.
This past Saturday, two vehicles crashed at an intersection in the Garfield Ridge area, running over 84-year-old Maria Ochoa Flores.
According to Ochoa’s family, it was difficult to discuss what had happened two days later because there were still a lot of unanswered issues. However, they stated on Monday night that they are looking for explanations and solutions.
Following in her footsteps, Ochoa’s family marched for justice along the same path she took daily for exercise. They are looking for solutions and answers.
“She was a great woman — always made sure our family was safe, always asking about her grandkids — my kids,” Maria Ochoa’s son, Fernando Ochoa stated. “We actually live a block apart.”
Calling for more safety features like speed bumps and cameras, as well as an examination of any footage that might have captured the collision that killed their matriarch, the family is united in their suffering and their mission.
Fernando Ochoa stated, “They’re both saying they both had the green light,” in reference to the two drivers that were involved in the collision on Saturday on Archer Avenue. “How is that possible?”
Police stated in an accident report that the two drivers were approaching from separate directions.
A dark automobile traveling southwest and attempting to drive north onto Laramie Avenue collided with a silver car traveling northeast on Archer Avenue as it attempted to turn left onto the northbound laramie avenue.
The silver automobile was thrown into Ochoa by the force of the collision. Two medics attempted to save her on the street before police came, but she would pass away from her wounds at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
“Never harmed to no one,” Fernando Ochoa stated. “Just taking a normal daily walk that she did every single day to keep her body and exercise moving.”
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Now, at a crossroads where street takeovers have left skid scars that will probably outlast the flowers placed in her honor, Maria Ochoa’s family wants to make sure they contribute to save other lives.
“You’re here in the middle of the night, late at night — because my bedroom is right there,” Fernando Ochoa stated. “You can hear the screeching, the peeling, of people racing each other out there.
According to authorities, there were no injuries to the 63-year-old driver of the gray car, the 26-year-old driver of the silver car, or their respective occupants.
The silver car’s driver received a citation. Detectives in the Wentworth Area are looking into it.
