Hit-And-Run Driver Sought By Shorewood Police

SHOREWOOD, IL - The Shorewood Police Department put out a statement on social media on Wednesday afternoon seeking your help in solving a hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian. The crime occurred around 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20 in the 1100 block of Hamilton Street. The woman was standing near the curb near her mailbox when she was hit by the vehicle. At least two males, who were in their late teens or early twenties, were traveling in the vehicle, believed to be a sports utility vehicle, Shorewood Police announced on Facebook. The incident occurred in the Riverbrook Estates area, police said.

"A woman unrelated to the offending vehicle assisted the victim of the crash into their home before the police were contacted. She left before officers arrived on scene," Shorewood police said.

Here's what would help Shorewood Police at this stage, a week later:

• Any home video surveillance footage from Hamilton Street or from Phelps Lane
• Identification of the possible witness who assisted the victim after the crash.

Shorewood's Deputy Police Chief of Investigations Jason Barten told Patch it would really help his agency if the woman who stopped to render aid to the victim came forward. "That person was obviously there soon after the victim was struck," Barten explained.

Barten also said the vehicle initially stopped and the passenger jumped out, saw the victim and then they sped off. Fortunately, the woman's injuries were not life-threatening, but she made need orthopedic surgery in the future, Barten said.

Police are not certain that the hit-and-run driver was in a dark-colored sports utility vehicle. It could have been a mini-van, Barten said. "We know it was not a car," Barten told Shorewood Patch.

Shorewood Police suspect that the hit-and-run driver lives in the immediate area, probably around Shorewood, Joliet or Plainfield, given that the collision occurred on a weekday at 1 p.m.

"This has got to be somebody local. It has to be," Barten said.

People are asked to call Shorewood Police Detective James Butcher at 815-725-1460 with any helpful leads, including information about these suspects or their hit-and-run vehicle.

Image via John Ferak, Editor of Shorewood Patch