Police Search For Driver After Deadly Hit-and-Run in North Suburban Morton Grove

Witnesses said three people fled one of the cars and hid from police in the surrounding neighborhood

Authorities are searching for a driver after a hit-and-run crash left a woman dead in north suburban Morton Grove late Friday night.

The multi-vehicle crash occurred near the intersection of Golf Road and Ozanam Ave around 11:30 p.m. Friday, closing Golf Road in both directions for several hours into Saturday morning, according to the Morton Grove Police Department.

Witnesses said a black vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when it collided with another car, effectively splitting the second vehicle in half.

A woman later identified as 49-year-old Denise Cavada was killed, according to police, and another person was taken to an area hospital. Further information on the second victim’s condition was not immediately available.

“I just heard like a screeching, like you could tell someone was really trying to stop,” one witness said. “And then just like a thump, I mean it shook me.”

Three people left the black car and fled into the neighborhood, witnesses said. Police used K9 units to canvass the area, taking two people into custody.

Steve Shapiro found one of the suspects in his backyard.

“He was just laying longways underneath the bushes with his back to us,” Shapiro said. “Then the police took him away.”

“There’s no light at that intersection and that feeds about six or eight streets in this Morton Grove area, so there’s a lot of traffic,” Shapiro added.

Other residents said some drivers travel at high rates of speed at night along that particular stretch of road, making for potentially dangerous, and in the case of Friday’s crash, fatal situations.

Police took two passengers of the black car into custody, but are still searching for the driver.

Anyone who has information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Morton Grove Police Department at (847) 470-5200.

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