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Crime & Mayhem

West Lawn Man Killed in Brighton Park Crash

April 22, 2013 6:22am | Updated April 22, 2013 6:22am
Alexander Ruiz, 28, died when the car he was driving collided with a semi-truck late Sunday. File photo.
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DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard (File)

CHICAGO — A West Lawn man was killed Sunday night when the car he was driving collided with a semi-truck, authorities said.

Alexander Ruiz, 28, of the 5900 block of South Keeler Avenue, was trying to pass several cars stopped at a traffic light when he hit the truck, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The incident occurred about 10:48 p.m. Sunday in the 4400 block of South Archer Avenue, police said. Police said earlier that the crash occurred at 43rd Street and Kedzie Avenue.

Ruiz was driving in a Chevrolet pick-up truck northwest on Archer Avenue when witnesses said he went through a red light and collided with a semi, according to Officer John Mirabelli, a Chicago police spokesman.

The wheels of the semi rolled over the hood of the Chevy, fatally injuring Ruiz, Mirabelli said.

Investigators at the medical examiner's office believe alcohol was involved; they found cans of beer in Ruiz's pockets.

Ruiz was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:15 p.m.

Emily Morris contributed. 

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