Officials have identified a teenager killed in an apparent hit-and-run Friday night while she rode an electric scooter in the South Shore neighborhood.
Violet D. Harris, 15, was found unresponsive when Chicago police responded to a call of a person lying in the street on the 2800 block of East 77th Street, a few blocks from Rainbow Beach, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday. The Chicago Fire Department transported Harris to the University of Chicago Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
According to the Chicago Police Department, a preliminary investigation indicated that Harris was struck by a vehicle while riding the scooter. The other driver then fled the scene. No additional details were available early Sunday afternoon as detectives continue to investigate.
In a verified GoFundMe, the girl’s mother, Rachel Sturgis, said she is a single parent and “would like to give (her) baby a proper burial.”
“She deserves it,” Sturgis wrote. “She filled the room with smiles when she walked in and brought so much joy to everyone she came in contact with. My children and I are extremely heartbroken.”
