A gofundme campaign has been started for the Chicago man killed early Sunday when he was hit by a car while crossing Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview.
The fund was established to assist the family of Juan Villagomez, 56, of Chicago’s West Lawn community. As of Wednesday, it had raised more than $16,000.
To contribute: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-juan-villagomezs-family
Villagomez, who was known by many as Katfish, was crossing Harlem east from The Krash bar with Claudia Villagomez about 1:30 a.m. when he was struck by a red 2008 Impala heading southbound, police said.
Police stopped the Impala at 8600 S. Harlem a few minutes later.
The driver, identified as Abigail Mason, 22, of Cicero, allegedly acknowledged hitting what she believed was a dog at 71st and Harlem. She allegedly told police that she drove away because she was scared.
Two Bridgeview police officers attempted to perform first aid on Villagomez. He was transported by Bridgeview paramedics to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m.
Police said the SMART team responded to help investigate the incident.
Harlem was closed in each direction for several hours but re-opened Sunday morning. Bedford Park, Hickory Hills and Hodgkins police assisted with traffic control.
Police said possible charges against Mason are pending the results of the SMART accident reconstruction report, which takes about four weeks.