After hearing about the Park Forest car accident that killed an elderly Steger couple, Yulita Arias said she wasn’t surprised.
Arias, who lives off 26th and Allegheny streets where the May 18 crash occurred, said she’s nervous to pull out onto 26th Street when leaving her neighborhood.
“They do drive kind of fast,” Arias said.
Oscar Hamer, 71, and his wife, Victoria, 69, were killed after a head-on crash with a box truck at about 2:50 p.m. near the west intersection of 26th Street and Allegheny Street, police said.
The Hamers, of Steger, were in a mid-sized SUV, police said. The driver of the box truck had minor injuries.
Reports of the crash prompted some residents to comment on the Park Forest Police Department Facebook page about how fast people drive down 26th Street near Allegheny Street, which has homes on one side and a forest preserve on the other. Two area residents also said they’ve seen animals and a broken electrical box struck by vehicles speeding down the 40 mph, two-lane road.
Mayor Joseph Woods, who was elected to the Village Board in 2019 and became mayor in April, said residents have previously asked officials to improve the safety of a road, either by installing a stop sign or speed enforcement, but that hasn’t been the case with 26th Street.
“There hasn’t been that push,” Woods said. “I have not heard that for 26th Street in particular.”
Trustee Randall White said residents have approached him about drivers on 26th Street, and he’s seen the comments people posted on Facebook. He said he hasn’t talked with other trustees about 26th Street, but said he’s confident the mayor and village officials will bring forth some policy to address the issue.
“I haven’t heard of any policy yet, but I do believe they’re going to address it,” White said.
Police said the Hamer’s SUV was traveling west on 26th Street and crossed into the eastbound lane, striking the box truck. The investigation is continuing and police said it is possible the SUV may have crossed into oncoming traffic to avoid or pass a third vehicle that was not involved in the crash and not at the scene when officers arrived.
Investigators are looking for the possible third vehicle, and ask anyone who witnessed any portion of the collision to call the investigations division at 708-748-1309.
Park Forest police Chief Paul Winfrey said speeding wasn’t a factor in the collision because the truck was driving slowly as its driver preparing to turn.
While police have heard and seen vehicles speed down 26th Street near the forest preserve, people tend to slow down once they reach the portion of 26th Street in Park Forest, Winfrey said.
“We do get people speeding through there. Generally, people slow down when they get into Park Forest but it’s not uncommon for people to go 15 mph more than the speed limit,” he said.
But Winfrey said other roads in the village have been flagged as a greater concern.
For example, April 1-9, police implemented speed enforcement on Sauk Trail and Western Avenue, which is about two miles away from there the crash occurred, that resulted in 59 traffic stops, 62 citations, of which 48 were for speeding, said village manager Tom Mick. Of those, four were for driving 26 mph over the limit, Mick said.
The 26th Street accident was tragic, Mick said, but speeding wasn’t a factor.
“While the issues of aggressive driving and speeding are on the rise, we don’t believe it was the case here,” Mick said.
