While on her way to pick up one of her children on the South Side, Marisol Mercado, a single mother of five, was killed when a shooting suspect being chased by police plowed into her four-door Saturn, police and family said.
Mercado, 35, of the 5700 block of West Grand Avenue, was struck by a car at Pulaski Road and Chicago Avenue on Saturday just before midnight.
Police had been pursuing the driver because he was suspected of shooting a man in the leg about a mile away from the crash site. His name had not been released as of Sunday evening.
The suspect and others in the wreck didn't suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.
Much of Mercado's family gathered Sunday on the Northwest Side block where she lived, sharing stories of a smart, confident woman who valued education, cherished her children and loved a good meal. Mercado's twin daughters showed off photos of their mom: at her GED graduation, with her babies on her lap.
Mercado, her sister Maritza Mercado said Sunday, was always eager to spend time with family. Just one night before the crash, her 13-year-old niece called to say that impromptu sleepover plans had left her without a change of clothes. Mercado delivered an outfit.
"You needed a hand," said niece Maritza Vanga, "she helped you."
In a separate crash Sunday, just after midnight Saturday, a 51-year-old man died when he was hit by a vehicle, described as a black Chevrolet Suburban with blue lights, in the 3000 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. The Cook County medical examiner's office hadn't released his name by Sunday evening, and police didn't report any arrests.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
