22-year-old bicyclist killed in hit-and-run crash in Old Irving Park; person of interest questioned
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Police are questioning someone in a hit and run that killed a 22-year-old cyclist in Old Irving Park Wednesday night.
According to police, the man was biking around 9:20 p.m. in the 3800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue when he was hit by a car.
The man was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The Medical Examiner identified the man as 22-year-old Nick Parlingayan.
The person was driving a 2020 to 2022 Nissan versa.
As CBS 2's Tim McNicholas reports, police are questioning a person of interest for the hit and run. The victim's family is praying for justice and asking the city to rethink safety measures at the intersection where it happened.
A bouquet of flowers where 22-year-old Nick Parlingayan died Wednesday night -- breaking the heart of his stepfather Ariel Javier.
"I miss my son. he was dear to me, and to have him die in this tragedy, so young, I just want people to understand what I'm going through," Javier said.
Javier says around 9 p.m., Parlingayan was riding his bike to the store to pick up the next day's breakfast when a driver hit him and took off.
"I just want the person to either give up or turn themselves in out of conscience. That's how I feel, just so that we can have some kind of closure to our family" Javier said.
People living in the area told us off camera they've long been concerned about the bike lanes in this area--from a lack of barriers to faded paint.
Now some are worried the road construction on the next block south might be causing another hazard. We watched car after car forced to drive into the bike lane because the road narrows in the area.
Police haven't said what caused the Wednesday night crash, but Parligayan's family and friends want the city to take a close look at cyclist safety.
"Somebody needs to change the way ya know everything is sectioned out over there. It's not safe for bikers or just people in general," said Dylan Lim, Parlingayan's best friend.
Another deadly bike incident was reported in Old Irving Park at this same location back in November of 2019.
A truck driver hit and killed cyclist 37-year-old Carla Aiello who was riding in the bike lane on Milwaukee Avenue. The driver was cited for improper right turn and negligent driving.
As CBS 2 reported in 2019, the city installed the bike lanes on Milwaukee Avenue in 2017, but the paint has since faded, It is unclear if the faded paint had anything to do with the accident in 2019.
Javier hopes someone will be held accountable for the Wednesday night crash.
"Please, love your kids. Give em a hug every day. Tell em you love, kiss em, hug em, before anything happens to them," he said
