A gray sedan rolled west on 18th Street and never slowed enough for the stopped traffic ahead. Guadalupe Almendarez rode in the passenger seat of that car. The sedan rear-ended a black truck sitting at a red light around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The force pushed the truck straight into a silver car lined up at the same light. All three vehicles ended up in a short chain reaction in the 1900 block of West 18th Street on Chicago’s Lower West Side. Guadalupe suffered critical injuries on the spot.
Paramedics got her to Stroger Hospital fast. She was pronounced dead there at 7:54 that night. Everyone else walked away without injury. The drivers and passengers from the truck and the silver car stayed unhurt.
Police from the Major Accidents Investigation Unit took over the scene right away. They are sorting out speed, distance, and what led the sedan into the back of the truck. No charges have been filed so far.
Guadalupe called the Clearing neighborhood home. She was 95 and had lived a full life until that ordinary evening ride turned deadly. The crash shut down the block for hours while crews cleared the wreckage.
City streets see this kind of pile-up more often than anyone likes. This one stood out because of the age of the woman who did not make it. Investigators still dig for the full story behind the impact.
The rest of the vehicles and their occupants moved on after the check-ups. Guadalupe’s journey ended at the hospital that night.
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