Edgewater: College student charged with running over, killing 93-year-old woman

Rayon Allen is charged with striking and killing a 93-year-old woman with his SUV in Edgewater. | CPD; Google

Prosecutors have charged a 29-year-old college student with accidentally striking and killing a 93-year-old woman with his SUV in the Edgewater neighborhood on September 24th.

Police said two other drivers yielded to allow Lorraine Campione to cross a driveway in the 5500 block of North Sheridan around 11:20 a.m. But Rayon Allen made an improper left turn in his SUV, overtook a vehicle on the left, and failed to yield to Campione as she walked north, police said.  The collision was recorded by surveillance cameras at the  Edgewater Beach Apartments, according to court records.

Allen continued to drive forward after striking Campione, which caused her body to become wedged under the front left driver’s side tire, police said. Allen got out of his SUV and tried to remove Campione by pulling on her leg, according to witnesses. When that failed, he allegedly tried to take other motorists’ cars. That also failed.

Campione was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital about nine hours after the accident, according to Cook County Medical Examiner records.

Rayon was detained at the scene when police arrived, but he was not formally arrested until last Tuesday. Prosecutors charged Rayon with one count of felony reckless homicide.

Judge Mary Marubio set bail at $10,000 and ordered him to go on electronic monitoring after he posts a 10% deposit bond. Allen is a citizen of Jamaica who’s attending college in Chicago, according to his defense attorney.

Allen told arresting officers that he works as a ride-hail service driver, but he was not driving for Lyft or Uber at the time of the accident, the companies said.
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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets.