Eric Kerestes, 30, was tragically killed Aug. 14, 2012, at approximately 6:15 a.m. when he was struck by an out-of-control taxi cab while he was standing at a bus stop near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Chicago Avenue in the River West neighborhood of Chicago. Reports indicate that the impact threw the man at least 15 feet. Kerestes was later pronounced dead at the scene according to the Office of the Cook County Medical Examiner. Kerestes worked for a local construction company and lived in the neighborhood. He was studying for his MBA at the University of Chicago, according to media reports. He reportedly had received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He originally was from Bloomington, Illinois.
After striking Kerestes, witnesses said the speeding Checker taxi cab hit a light pole, flipped several times and then started on fire after coming to rest. Media reports say the taxi was completely destroyed. Bystanders assisted the cab driver and his passenger from the vehicle just as it started on fire. The cab driver, John Kesse, was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition while the cab passenger was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious to critical condition. CBS Chicago reported that the driver had been ticketed 28 times between 1988 and 2009.
Robert Clifford recently spoke to CBS-2 Chicago investigative reporter Pam Zekman about the issue of negligent cab drivers in Chicago. Click here to read that article or here to read Channel 2 News story.
