Niles Senior Fatally Struck While Crossing Dempster Street

NILES, IL — A senior citizen died after he was struck by an SUV while crossing a street Friday morning in Niles, police said. Around 6:15 a.m., a 78-year-old man was walking across the 8800 block of Dempster Street when he was hit by a red Ford SUV in the westbound lanes ahead of Western Avenue before reaching the north side of Dempster, according to police.

Firefighters took the man, later identified as Michael Horcher a resident of Glen Saint Andrew's nursing home in Niles, to Lutheran General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 7 a.m., according to Niles police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The driver of the SUV, an 18-year-old man whose mother was accompanying him, remained at the site of the collision and was fully cooperative with investigators. A witness saw the pedestrian walk out "directly in front" of the vehicle, according to Cmdr. Robert Tornabene.

No traffic citations were issued and there was no indication of any driver impairment, Tornabene said. The north suburban Major Crash Assistance Team assisted Niles police with the investigation.

The crash comes less than a month after another senior was struck and killed while crossing Greenwood Avenue about 500 yards south of Friday's deadly incident in a crash was initially and incorrectly described by authorities as a hit-and-run due to misstatements from the driver.