A two-car accident in the Brighton Park neighborhood early Sunday morning, April 1, took the life of one man and injured five other people.
According to Police News Officer Daniel O’Brien, the accident occurred at about 2 a.m. on the Southwest Side, near Sawyer and Archer avenues. A 2008 Chevrolet Malibu driving north on Archer Avenue ran into a 2011 Nissan Maxima going south on Archer when the Malibu’s driver failed to yield when turning left onto Sawyer.
The driver of the Nissan, 28-year-old Ahmed M. Kighta, was pronounced dead at 2:48 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death an accident, saying that Kighta died of multiple injuries from the wreck.
Officer O’Brien said that passengers who were in the Malibu were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, and passengers in the Nissan were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in Cook County. The driver of the Malibu, one of the people taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, is under arrest; charges are pending.
Archer Avenue was blocked in both directions, and buses were rerouted due to the wreckage from the accident. The two cars involved in the crash landed on the north side of Archer, facing north. The impact of the crash sent the engine block from one of the cars through the air to land 50 feet away.
We send our condolences to the victims of this tragic accident, as well as their families and friends.