Investigators don’t know why a Matteson man’s body was found 12 miles from where his feet were severed in an apparent hit-and-run accident, but Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said they were closing in on an answer.
“We’re going to catch this [driver],” Dart said Monday at a news conference outside Cook County Jail.
“It’s just a matter of whether they want to come in at this juncture right now and come off as someone who might be somewhat reasonable and had panicked, or someone who we’re going to handcuff and bring in down the road. … If we have to go out and get them ourselves, there is little mercy that will be seen for a person like that.”
The body of Michael Cranston, 60, of the 20000 block of Keystone Avenue in unincorporated Matteson, known as “Walking Mike” to neighbors, was discovered next to an industrial site in Alsip.
“I believe it was an accident,” said Catherine Miles, 42, who lives across the street from the home where Cranston lived with his niece. “I can’t imagine anyone would do that to him on purpose.”
Police found a pair of lower legs in the roadway on Vollmer Road just west of Crawford Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Friday, Dart said. One leg had been severed below the knee, the other just above the ankle.
As officers canvassed the neighborhood that night, they found Cranston’s niece, who told investigators she hadn’t seen him in several hours.
Authorities were first notified of the body alongside some bushes and a fence at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, when a passing motorcyclist saw it and called police. Investigators knew shortly after that Cranston was the victim.
They later learned that a person walking near 123rd Street and Lavergne Avenue on Saturday morning had seen Cranston’s body, Dart said, but may have thought it was a Halloween prank.
An autopsy Monday determined the cause of death was a torn aorta caused by the impact, Dart said, and found numerous broken bones as well as glass shards embedded in the body.
“I can’t conceive of a scenario where the driver didn’t know they hit this individual,” Dart said. “This is a situation where a person hit the individual and decided they were going to conceal it.”
There was no evidence Cranston’s body was dragged beneath the vehicle, and the glass shards suggest he may have struck one of the windows, the sheriff said.
Evidence was collected where the feet were found, such as car parts that matched others found in Alsip where Cranston’s body was discovered, Dart said. Police were analyzing serial numbers on those parts, which may identify the make of the car and perhaps the dealership where it was sold.
In addition, Dart said his officers were reviewing surveillance tapes from businesses along Vollmer Road to see if they captured an image of the vehicle.
Investigators believe the vehicle that struck Cranston sustained extensive damage, and they were checking with auto and glass repair shops to see if such a vehicle has been brought in, he said.
No one answered the door at Cranston’s home Monday, and family members could not be reached for comment, but residents said he was a fixture in the neighborhood.
“He was different,” Miles said, “… but he was harmless as a dove. He’d walk up to the Speedway five, six times a day to get cigarettes or coffee. That’s why we called him ‘Walking Mike.'”
She said the tall, thin man would shuffle up and down the street, or he would sit for hours in a lawn chair in his front yard, his unkempt appearance belying his friendliness.
“Not seeing him around is very odd,” Miles said. “He’ll be greatly missed.”
Richard Dolega, 72, lives around the corner from Cranston’s home. “He always asked me for cigarettes,” Dolega said. “Well, I don’t smoke, but I took a liking to him and started picking them up for him. I’d drive by in the morning and stop and chat with him for a minute, you know, till traffic started to back up. He always asked how my wife is — she had a stroke a year ago. I just took a liking to him.”
Anyone with information about Cranston’s death is asked to call the Cook County Sheriff’s Department at 847-635-1188.
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mwalberg@tribune.com
