By Liam Ford
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — A Chicago firefighter died this week, almost a month after he was critically injured when a hit-and-run driver struck him as he stood near his parked car in the Rogers Park neighborhood, authorities said Wednesday.
Firefighter Lorenzo Douglas, 43, was pronounced dead at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday at Presence Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines after suffering multiple injuries when he was hit by a minivan, the Cook County medical examiner’s office determined following an autopsy Wednesday. Douglas, who joined the Chicago Fire Department in 2012, was injured in an accident June 12 in the 6500 block of North Ashland Avenue, authorities said.
“He waited a long time to be a firefighter and was well liked by the members he worked with,” said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford in an email. “He fought hard to come back from life-threatening injuries and we all thought he was on the road to recovery. The entire department is saddened by his passing and our prayers are with his family as they will always be a part of the CFD.”
Douglas, who was assigned to Engine 103, 25 S. Laflin St. on the Near West Side, was outside his his home when he was injured, authorities said.
The crash happened 7:30 p.m. June 12, when a vehicle heading north on Ashland crossed from the northbound lanes to the southbound lanes, hitting three parked cars and hitting Douglas, who was standing outside his parked vehicle, police said.
Douglas was taken initially in critical condition to Presence St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, police said. He later was transferred to Holy Family, which has a rehabilitation center.
No one was in custody in connection with the hit-and-run, and a vehicle description was not immediately available from police News Affairs.
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