Suspect Charged in Tragic Rogers Park Hit and Run

By Tim State in News on Mar 16, 2008 8:38PM

In a crazy, sad story that’s been evolving all day, Boubacar Bah has been charged with the early morning hit-and-run death of Thomas Dalof. Dalof, 26, had been celebrating with friends his recent acceptance into both the Chicago Fire Academy and the local stagehands union. His friends gave an account as to what happened after they left the bar:

Dalof walked out of the bar and spotted a woman's car being kicked by two apparently drunk young men. The men, who had been in the same bar, were randomly kicking taxis and other cars driving along Broadway. The woman had apparently stopped to confront them. When the woman got out of her car, the men started kicking her. Dalof came to the woman's rescue, and Dalof's friend ran to his aid. The woman was able to jump into her car and escape.

Dalof and friends decided not to fight the men, and returned to where Dalof was parked, but they were stopped by a group of young men who had been in the bar with the women’s attackers. They decided to outrun them, and when they turned around, a red car with one headlight sped through a stop sign toward them, and rammed Dalof.

Dalof was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, and it was originally thought that the car that hit him was related to the altercation. It now turns out the car, which was found smashed into a light pole in a nearby alley, belongs to Bah, who had been drinking and smoking marijuana at a friend’s house. He turned himself in this morning. Bah now faces charges of reckless homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, and bail has been set at $2.0 million. [S-T, Trib, Trib, Trib]

Image via The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park.