A 21-year-old man was killed and the 24-year-old man riding behind him was critically injured on Wednesday night, October 28, when a turning SUV struck their motorcycle in Chicago's Woodlawn neighbourhood, Chicago police said in accounts reported by ABC7 Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Source: ABC7 Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times via HeyDay News

The crash happened at about 9:10 p.m. in the 6100 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, near 61st Street, on the city's South Side. Police said a silver SUV travelling south on Cottage Grove turned left onto 61st Street and struck the motorcycle, which was heading north on Cottage Grove carrying the two men.

Both men were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where the motorcycle's driver died, police said. The passenger, 24, was last reported in critical condition on Thursday morning, October 29. No later medical update had been established in the reports reviewed - one young man is dead, and the second man's condition beyond that first critical report remains unknown.

What police say happened - and what is still preliminary

The police account is a preliminary description of the vehicles' movements, not a completed finding on why the crash happened or who bears legal responsibility. According to that account, the SUV was southbound and turned left across the motorcycle's northbound path at 61st Street. Local reporting added two details about the SUV's driver: the driver reported back and knee pain but declined emergency medical assistance, and police issued the driver a citation. The reports reviewed did not specify what the citation was for, and Awaaz Punjab is not guessing at it.

Police had not publicly released the name of the man who died in the reports reviewed. A name circulating in an online obituary post was not confirmed by the police accounts carried by ABC7 Chicago or the Sun-Times, so this report does not publish it. In Chicago, a person killed in a crash is formally identified by the Cook County medical examiner after family notification.

The corner: Cottage Grove Avenue and 61st Street, in Woodlawn

Woodlawn is a South Side neighbourhood whose main north-south artery is Cottage Grove Avenue, a wide, busy street of apartment buildings, churches and storefronts running past the University of Chicago's orbit in neighbouring Hyde Park. The University of Chicago Medical Center, where both men were taken, is the area's major trauma hospital, minutes from the crash scene - which is why the passenger's fight is happening there. Intersections like Cottage Grove and 61st carry exactly the mix that makes left turns dangerous: through traffic in both directions, turning vehicles judging gaps at night, and smaller vehicles that are easy to misjudge.

Why a left turn is a known danger for riders

A vehicle turning left across the path of an oncoming motorcycle is one of the most consistently reported patterns in fatal motorcycle crashes, for a simple reason: a motorcycle's speed and distance are harder for a turning driver to judge than a car's, especially at night, and the rider has almost no protection when the judgement is wrong. Police have not said whether either man on the motorcycle was wearing a helmet - Illinois is one of the few states with no helmet law for adult riders - and they have not said whether speed, visibility or any other factor contributed on Wednesday night. Those are questions for the investigation, not for speculation.

What happens next

The Chicago Police Department's investigation continues. Its next steps are the formal identification of the man who died by the medical examiner, updates on the 24-year-old passenger's condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and a completed crash investigation that will decide whether the citation already issued is the end of the matter or whether further charges follow. Police have announced no arrest in the reports reviewed. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the medical examiner releases the driver's name or police publish their completed findings.