ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (WLS) — A bicyclist was killed in a crash I Rolling Meadows Tuesday night, police said.
Officers responded at about 9:27 p.m. to a crash between a car and a bicyclist at the intersection of Rohlwing Road and Campbell Street.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
When Virginia Coglianese and her son were driving back from his hockey practice, they encountered a man lying on the road with no apparent signs of the driver who had hit him.
Coglianese recalled their initial reaction was to honk the horn, but her son quickly pointed out that the man was injured. They immediately stopped the car, with her son calling 911 while she tried to comfort the injured man.
Within a few minutes, the vehicle believed to have been involved in the accident arrived at the scene. Almost simultaneously, the Rolling Meadows police also showed up, providing assistance.
There’s no way he didn’t know that he hit something bad. You know, I heard it from two blocks away.
Coglianese said the man was conscious and talking, but described him as “out of it.” Police say Patrick J. Houlihan, 41, of Rolling Meadows was taken to a hospital, but he later died.
“I was surprised… and like shook, very shook,” Coglianese said. “I mean, he told me the name of his cat last night when I was by him.”
Michael Leino lives on Campbell and says he was walking his dogs Tuesday night and saw Houlihan moments before the crash.
“Bike went by me, and then, you know, I was two blocks away, so took him a while, but then, yeah… got hit right in the corner, and it was terrible, crunching noise,” Leino said.
Rolling Meadows police acknowledged the driver may have left the scene of the crash, but came back. Police said, “the driver returned to the scene in a short enough time to alleviate the need to investigate as a hit and run.”
“There’s no way he didn’t know that he hit something bad,” Leino said. “You know, I heard it from two blocks away.”
Police say the driver of the vehicle is cooperating with authorities, and no charges have been filed as of Wednesday evening.
“My son and I were talking about it that, like, maybe that is the difference,” Coglianese said. “A matter of seconds could be the difference.”
The crash is currently being investigated by the Rolling Meadows Police Department with assistance from the Major Case Assistance Team’s (MCAT) Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) Team.
Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
