Nearly two months after an elderly man was killed in a hit-and-run incident while crossing the street in Morton Grove, police announced Tuesday that a 39-year-old man has been charged in the case.
William Barkho, 39, of the 8000 Block of West Lyons in Niles, is charged with felony failure to report a crash causing death, according to a Morton Grove Police Department news release.
The release explains that Barkho was indicted on the charges after the Cook County state’s attorney’s office presented the case to a grand jury on July 7. Barkho appeared in court Aug. 13 at the Skokie courthouse for arraignment, and he turned himself in to Morton Grove police Tuesday for processing.
Police previously said that officers responded at around 7:30 a.m. June 26 to the 6700 block of Beckwith Street on a call of a pedestrian struck by an SUV while crossing the street.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the man as Jonathan Friedman, 74, of the 6600 block of Foster Street in Morton Grove.
Police said Friedman was crossing the street at Beckwith and Neenah Avenue when he was hit by a Chevy Equinox. The driver of the SUV reportedly fled the scene, but the vehicle was located “in the vicinity with no driver present.”
Friedman was transported by ambulance to Lutheran General Hospital in nearby Park Ridge and was pronounced dead about an hour later.
A few hours after the initial call to the scene, Morton Grove police announced that a person of interest had been identified. It was not immediately clear in Tuesday’s announcement by police whether Barkho was the one police had identified as that initial person of interest.
Police said in the release Tuesday that with the help of the Major Crash Assistance Team, Morton Grove police conducted an “extensive investigation.” Witnesses were interviewed, surveillance video was reviewed, and cell phone forensics along with the village’s license plate reader cameras were used.
Barkho is scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 22 for this case.
