Amira Nairat, not just a name but someone remembered for her warmth, her heart for others, and her ambitions. Now a name you’ll see in passing on a street sign across the street from Harold L. Richards High School in her honor.
The new green sign is dedicated in the memory of Amira, a 15-year-old whose life was cut short on Feb. 4, 2019, when she was struck and killed by a drunk driver at 107th Street and Central Avenue while walking to school from her Chicago Ridge home.
Edward Cruz fled the scene but was captured and later convicted of aggravated drunken driving involving death and leaving the scene of an accident. He is due to be released from prison on Oct. 3.
The June 21 unveiling brought Amira’s loved ones, friends, educators and village officials out to honor her memory.
Amira’s father, Mahmoud, said the dedication ceremony was more than a tribute but a “very deep feeling” for him.
“It’s like I’m flying with her,” he said, “We feel closer to her, she’s being recognized.”
Mahmoud still remembers the moment that led to the dedication, it started with a dream.
One Saturday morning his wife woke up unsettled.
“She said Amira came to her in her dream, holding her hand, wanting her to go to her former school,” Mahmoud said. “My wife told Amira in the dream, ‘You know me, I only speak Arabic.’ Amira was insistent and said, ‘It doesn’t matter, you have to come with me to the school. There is paperwork that I need you to sign.'”
Three days later, on February 11, 2025, the village of Chicago Ridge called, they had been working on a project to name a street after Amira.
“And then when he said, ‘We need your permission.’ I remembered the dream and started crying,” Mahmoud said.
Former Richards principal Mike Jacobson, along with her former teachers, worked with Amira’s classmates.
“They did all the work,” Mahmoud said, “Amira’s teachers and friends, they made this possible.”
A high honor student from a young age, academia was always a priority even when Amira was moving to and from Jordan in 2014 with her siblings. She remained focused and on top of her class, said Mahmoud.
When Amira returned to the U.S. in 2018, she jumped right back into school life.
She was always helpful. “Days before her passing, she would be seen helping and taking care of her baby brother and sister, with their homework,” Mahmoud said.
Her dreams were just as selfless when her dad would ask what she wanted to be in the future, “She said, ‘I want to be a doctor,’ and when I asked her why, ‘Because if poor people get sick, I can help them.'” That’s the kind of girl Amira was.
During the dedication, Jacobson reflected on the day Amira passed away. “I was principal the day this happened to Amira,” he said. “It was a tragic day. But the joy she brought, the compassion she showed, and the activism which came from the tragic death, far outpaced her time here.”
Students and staff responded with action. “We petitioned local and state governments to put better signage on school zones, students started a scholarship fund, and asked for more resources to combat addiction, and it’s a tragic toll on communities,” said Jacobson.
“Her legacy will continue not only in the sign on the street but in the sign in my heart and in your heart,” Jacobson added. “The world needs more kindness, more empathy, and when I think of Amira, I think of the best of us.”
Chicago Ridge Mayor Jack Lind offered his condolences on behalf of the village. “My condolences on behalf of the village go out to you and your family.”
Village Clerk Barbra Harrison, who first contacted the family about the dedication, added, “Everybody on the board has been receptive to this happening and wanted to pay their respects and acknowledge Amira.”
A speaker from the MAS Foundation reminded all those who gathered, “This was not just a tragedy; it was preventable; a drunken driver ended her life, and that cannot be optional; we must protect the lives of our children.”
Mahmoud hopes the sign will make people pause, “I hope people are careful and keep their eyes open because if someone loses their life, there is no undoing that.”
“Now, when I drive past by her name,” he said, “I’ll feel like I’m flying with her.”
