Weeks after her brother's death, Monica Hampton is still trying to process what happened.
“I’ve been trying to sleep, but I can’t,” she said. “This has been on my mind, so it’s like I need to reach out get his story out there.”
Hampton told NBC 5 her brother Keith, a father of four from Chicago Heights, was looking to turn his life around when he was killed on Feb. 20.
“I mean there’s just so many different stories,” she said. “It’s a mystery, and we need answers.”
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Illinois State Police told Hampton’s family her brother was found dead on the Dan Ryan Expressway near 35th Street. Investigators believe he was walking in the southbound lanes when he was hit by a car. The driver then took off.
“I’m not getting like walking on the e-way part—I’m not getting it,” she said. “So was he walking on the e-way or did he crash, was he in the car with somebody and crash?”
Hampton said her brother was with their older sister in Chicago Heights about an hour before he died. He didn’t have a car and had plans to take the bus home.
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But how he ended up on the Dan Ryan is still a mystery.
“How would ya’ll feel if your sister, your brother was left like this on the side of the e-way, and you don’t have no questions but a hit-and-run,” she said.
Hampton said her brother had no history of mental health challenges. She’s more determined than ever to find the truth and get justice for her brother no matter how long it takes.
“He loved his family, his mom, I mean he had people out here that really loved him. He’s not just no piece of carpet that ya’ll could just sweep underneath the rug and just let this go,” she said. “I’m going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep fighting until we get something.”
Hampton is pleading for the driver to come forward to give her family closure.
“Just please give us something we just need anything,” she said. “Just turn yourself in and just tell your story we just need to know what really happened.”
The incident remains under investigation by Illinois State Police.
