An Evanston woman intentionally struck a pedestrian with her car following an argument at an Edgewater crosswalk, leaving the 61-year-old man with a traumatic brain injury so severe that he is expected to undergo long-term residential care, according to a detention filing from prosecutors.
Ivory Buchanan, 41, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery in connection with the July 26 incident.
The victim was in a crosswalk at Ravenswood Avenue and Ridge Avenue when Buchanan drove her black 2023 Ford C-Max past him without yielding around 6:20 p.m., prosecutors said in a detention petition. Angered by her failure to stop, the man struck Buchanan’s car with his hand, prompting her to stop and pull the vehicle in his direction, according to the filing.
Buchanan rolled down her window and began arguing with him. At one point, the man walked toward Buchanan and spat in her direction before walking away.
Buchanan then accelerated toward the man, stopped abruptly and turned the vehicle in his direction, prosecutors said. She accelerated rapidly again and struck him with the car, pinning him against a fence, according to the allegations. Prosecutors said Buchanan then reversed with the man clinging to the hood of her car before accelerating rapidly again and slamming into a curb, which caused the man to fall from and hit his head on the pavement. Buchanan then fled the scene, prosecutors said.
Two witnesses saw the incident, and a surveillance camera also recorded it. Chicago police used the surveillance footage to identify the vehicle and its license plate, according to the detention filing.
The victim suffered a traumatic brain injury. As of last week, he had not responded to any stimuli and was expected to be moved to a long-term care facility, prosecutors said.
Buchanan was interviewed by police and allegedly told investigators that the man had been aggressive toward her. She said she did not remember anything after he was on the hood of her car, according to a court filing summarizing her statement. Buchanan also allegedly told investigators that she no longer had the Ford because she sold it at auction the day after the crash, but she could not remember the name of the auction house.
Judge John Hock granted the state’s detention petition.
