CHICAGO — A car struck and killed a University of Chicago doctor Wednesday morning who had been jogging in South Shore.
The 6:40 a.m. crash happened in the 1900 block of East 67th Street when a 40-year-old woman driving an SUV hit the man, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman.
U of C said the man was Gary Toback, a professor who "conducted world-renowned research." He had been a professor there since 1974 and studied kidney disease and other renal growth factors, according to the university.
Toback, 74, of the 6800 block of South Constance, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. There will be an autopsy on Thursday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
“We have lost an institutional leader who represented the University of Chicago’s values and aspirations,” U of C said in an emailed statement. “He was a treasured colleague, friend, mentor, leader and physician.”
Video from the scene showed the SUV rolled over in the crash.
Jeffery Larry and Susan McKeever, who live at the corner of 67th Street and Bennett Avenue, said they were awoken by a loud bang outside their house. When they looked outside, they saw a rolled-over car and an older man lying near it.
They didn't recognize the man, they said, but were later told he was a University of Chicago doctor and professor who frequently jogged around their block.
"He was sort of a fixture around here," Larry said. "He'd be out here running every single morning, no matter how cold or hot it got."
Carmelo Aviles, who works at the Mobil gas station on 67th Street and Jeffrey Boulevard, said he was arriving for work when "everyone started running over" to the scene of the crash.
"It's really sad ... . It's been a sad day," he said.
A 2-year-old girl who was in the car was taken to Comer Children's Hospital with the driver, Estrada said. Information about the girl's condition was not available.
Police are investigating. No further information was available.
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