Man Struck On Dan Ryan Later Found Dead In Alley

By Anna Deem in News on Jul 25, 2010 8:00PM

Earl Tavin, 18, of the 9100 block of South Cottage Grove Ave., died in car crash early Saturday on the Dan Ryan (I-94) at 69th Street, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office via the Chicago Sun-Times. Yet somehow, his body ended up in a South Side alley almost a mile away. Police are investigating how Tavin was struck and potentially dragged in the crash, which could have led to him winding up in the alley.

The Illinois State police responded to the crash in the northbound lanes of I-94 at 3:21 a.m. and found a white Chevrolet van that was rolled over and abandoned. Although a witness claimed the van and a grey Dodge were drag racing when they collided and the Dodge struck and dragged a person standing next to the van, police didn't find anyone at the site of the accident. Around 9:30 a.m., they were informed of a body found in a back alley near 63rd and Wabash Avenue that matched the description of the person struck.

The body was eventually determined as the person from the crash, and police are still investigating how it ended up almost a mile away. Police are also looking for the grey Dodge that fled the scene of the accident. An autopsy to verify Tavin's cause of death is scheduled for Sunday.