CHICAGO — The family of a 37-year-old woman killed in a hit-and-run crash on the North Side over the weekend is remembering her as a loving soul.
“Janelle spent her last night having an amazing time,” sister Lilani Gardiner said.
The Gardiner sisters went to an Arlo Parks concert at Lincoln Hall and then went out for some post-show drinks. After the night was over, the sisters got rides home in separate cars.
Janelle was riding in a Nissan Rogue driven by a 27-year-old friend. At around 3 a.m., they were hit by someone driving westbound on Irving Park Road from Damen in a gray Toyota Camry.
Chicago police said an on-duty K9 officer saw shots being fired from the Camry and began pursuing the car in the moments before the crash. The occupants ran away from the scene following the crash and have not been located.
“How could they have gotten away with all the cameras around, eyewitnesses and police were nearby?” said mother Karen Gardiner. “We don’t understand how they could have gotten out of that car and nobody saw anything.”
Gardiner grew up in Evanston and worked as a financial manager at the Sherman Dodger dealership in Skokie.
Family is pleading for any witnesses to contact police. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.