Zoraleigh Ryan Chandler, Arizona woman i’d as female pedestrian killed by Chicago SUV driver Edgar Roman who intentionally ran over victim. Prior record for reckless driving.
A SUV driver was ordered held Wednesday after striking and killing a pedestrian along with injuring her daughter while they walked along a Chicago street.
Edgar Roman, 25, of Albany Park is alleged to have used his vehicle to strike and kill Zoraleigh Ryan, 55, of Chandler, Arizona and injuring her 20-year-old daughter, Monday, on the Near North Side.
Cook County prosecutors said Roman struck the two women as they crossed a street in with his SUV before circling back and striking one of them again, killing Ryan. Roman is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, filing a false police report and leaving the scene of an accident.
Ryan, 55, who was vacationing in the city, had just finished dinner at a steakhouse with her 19-year-old daughter that evening when they decided to walk back to their hotel so they could stop at a convenience store. As mother & daughter turned to cross the street upon finding the store closed, Roman struck Ryan with the force, ‘equivalent of a loaded gun,’ prosecutors said.
‘She didn’t deserve it,’ said Zoraleigh Ryan’s granddaughter, Angelina Adams. ‘Now my only grandma is gone because people want to be dumb. An innocent person that is just so sweet, doesn’t hurt anyone. She always makes sure everyone’s good before herself.’
Got out of vehicle & looked at the women before making U-turn & striking Ryan again
Roman’s lawyer told the Chicago Sun-Times that his client lived with his parents and worked at a restaurant and as a delivery driver.
Records showed Roman having a prior felony conviction for robbery and misdemeanor convictions for reckless driving and driving without a valid license, prosecutors said.
He was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bond.
Authorities say Roman was driving on the city’s near North Side late Monday when his vehicle struck Ryan. They said Roman got out of his vehicle and looked at the women on the ground before he climbed back in, made a U-turn and struck Ryan again, ‘dragging her several feet and causing her death.’ The daughter who suffered a broken wrist and cuts, was treated at a hospital and released.
The incident was caught on police cameras and surveillance video from nearby buildings, prosecutors said.
Police allege that Roman sped off and eluded a police officer who tried to pull him over when he spotted him driving erratically. Police alleged that Roman abandoned the SUV. He was later arrested when he showed up at a police station near his Chicago home to report the vehicle stolen. The man confessed after told he was caught on video as the driver.
Prosecutors have told of no known motive.
