Chicago Police

Alleged Driver in River North Crash Found Dead: Officials

A driver who went missing after a fatal high-speed crash in Chicago's River North neighborhood Monday morning was found dead hours after the horrific accident, police said. 

"The driver of the vehicle from the crash on Ontario has been identified and was found deceased from what appears to be a suicide," Chicago police said in a statement Tuesday. 

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed a 34-year-old man, identified as Anthony Milder, was found dead a few miles from where the accident happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday. An autopsy Tuesday revealed he was hanged and his death was ruled a suicide. 

The early morning crash killed Alejandra Damian, a DePaul University student from Joliet, and shut down the Ontario feeder ramp to the Kennedy Expressway for hours, police said. 

According to authorities, the 2009 Nissan Coupe was traveling at a high rate of speed around 1:30 a.m. in the 400 block of West Ontario when it hit a utility pole. The impact caused the car to spin out and burst into flames, police said.

Two witnesses, who asked that their names not be used out concerns for their safety, provided cellphone video to NBC 5 of the moments after the fatal crash. They say the video shows the driver climb from the wrecked and burning car. The two men can be heard on video asking the alleged driver if there was anyone else in the car. They told NBC 5 in an interview they asked him at least six times.

The driver fled the scene on foot and the passenger was later removed by first responders and pronounced dead at the scene, Chicago police said in a statement.

Video from another witness who heard the crash shows the burning vehicle split in two as firefighters arrived at the scene. Officers at the scene placed evidence markers along a trail of blood that went west down Ontario.

The crash remained under investigation by the Chicago Police Major Accidents Unit Monday.

The ramp to the expressway remained closed for several hours throughout the morning rush.

Witnesses told NBC 5 they saw the driver head westbound as they called police.

"We're here because we want justice for our daughter," said Lourdes Damian, the Alejandra's mother. "I want justice for my daughter, we want the name of who she was traveling with."

Damian's family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with her funeral expenses.

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