City Worker Killed In Pilsen Crash

By Anna Deem in News on Jan 23, 2011 6:45PM

Candis Ricks, 29, a Streets and Sanitation department worker and mother of two, was killed on Saturday after an SUV and a car plowed into each other in Pilsen. Although there was an arrest following the crash, no charges have been filed as of Saturday night. The crash occurred in the 2100 block of South Damen around 1:30 a.m., as Ricks was traveling northbound on Damen in a Ford Escape SUV when her car was hit by a Ford Focus going west on 21st Street. The crash caused both vehicles to jump the curb and roll onto the sidewalk.

The drivers of both cars had to be extricated by fire department crews, but a passenger in the Focus got out on his own, police said via the Chicago Sun-Times. Ricks was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m. The driver of the Focus was listed in serious condition and the passenger was in stable condition at Stroger Hospital. "She was just a lovely person and a joy to be around," David Johnson, Ricks' father, said about his daughter to the Sun-Times. Ricks was also "an education mom," and wanted her two children to get into the best schools. "We're just trying to hang in there," Johnson said.