Feb. 25--As the family of a 34-year-old man killed in a hit-and-run in Avondale over the weekend prepares to bury their beloved "Guerito" they are calling for the person who struck him to turn themselves over to authorities.
Christopher Sanchez was killed after being struck by a silver SUV at 5:20 a.m. Sunday as he crossed the intersection of Milwaukee and Belmont avenues, according to police.
Sanchez, of the 3100 block of North Sawyer Avenue, was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead Sunday morning, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The Chicago Fire Department said the man was thrown about 30 feet in the air.
Sanchez's family called on witnesses to step forward and for the driver to take responsibility for what happened, said Mimi Osoria, a cousin. Police released surveillance photos this week, but as of Thursday, there were no updates, police said.
"We want to make a plea for the driver who left my cousin to die ... this driver had no remorse," Osoria said. "Don't ask for clemency when the time comes for sentencing, because you (the driver) had no clemency for my cousin, you coward."
Police said the vehicle that killed Sanchez is believed to possibly be a Jeep Cherokee, with damage to the right side of its front end, and a broken headlight. The SUV fled north on Milwaukee Avenue.
The Sanchez family gathered at the site earlier this week and are preparing to hold a wake Thursday evening at the Ewalt-Barlock Funeral Home, 2501 N. Southport Ave. and a funeral Friday at St. Alphonsus Church at 1429 W. Wellington Ave.
Sanchez was remembered as a religious man who lived in the same building as his parents so he could watch over the couple who came to Chicago from San Luis Potosi in central Mexico. His mother died last March, and her death from cancer hit him especially hard, Osoria said. As the anniversary of her death was approaching he was particularly despondant, Osoria said.
"She taught him that first was faith, which is Catholic; then our family and looking out over each other and being there for each other," Osoria said. "He was missing his mom, and he couldn't believe she was gone."
The man was known by his family nickname, "Guerito" because of his light complexion and as the youngest and only single person of three children, doted especially on his nieces and nephews. She said the extended family tended to gather recently during tragedy's like his mother's funeral and during those times he was the one, "pulling for everyone."
"He was a great son, a great brother and most of all a great uncle," Osoria said.
Sanchez grew up in same home where he lived and worked as a mechanic at a local Chevrolet dealership. He loved tinkering on cars, and the family has heard how beloved by his friends and co-workers, Osoria said.
"Everyone loved him, people have nothing but good things to say about him," she said. "I loved him so much, and I'm going to miss him. He was the coolest cousin ever."
