Tuesday 16 August 2022 06:22 AM Shocking Chicago hit-and-run crash that killed 3, injured 1 'sparked by ... trends now
Chicago police said on Monday they believe a hit-and-run which killed three men was an intentional attack on the crowd outside a gay bar - but that it is too early to judge whether it was a hate crime.
The three young black men - Donald Huey, 25; Jaylen Ausley, 23; and Devonta Vivetter, 27 - were hurled into the air when a sedan smashed into them at high speed in the early hours of Sunday, outside a well-known gay bar in the South Side.
A fourth man was left injured in the crash, which happened as a large group was standing in the road, seemingly arguing.
Brendan Deenihan, chief of detectives, said on Monday the crash is not thought to be an accident, but it wasn't yet concluded that it was related to their race or sexuality.
'It appears to be intentional,' said Deenihan.
'We don't have any evidence to support that somebody was trying to harm these individuals based because of their race, religion, etc.
'That can change once we get more witnesses and a suspect in.'
Ausley had just graduated from the University of Michigan and returned to the South Side to do social work
Donald Huey had decided to leave LA and return home to Chicago for a new job, his sister said
Deenihan said the car was recovered four blocks from the scene, but the driver remains on the run.
'You can't charge a car with a crime, obviously,' he said, appealing for the public's help.
'We need to know who the driver was.
'There were a lot of people out there, a lot of people that were inside the bar prior to this occurring.
'And we definitely believe that there's individuals who actually want to give us that information to name a suspect.'
Tributes have been paid to the three men killed in the horrific smash, which was caught on surveillance cameras.
Ausley had just graduated from the University of Michigan, and returned to the South Side to work with disadvantaged young people at the Gary Comer Youth Center, which provides tutoring, job training, career planning and other programs.
'Many of the kids Jaylen worked with have reached out to express their gratitude and appreciation for Jaylen's willingness to be a positive
