3-year-old killed as biking mother tries to squeeze between utility, semi truck 

A three year old was killed in a wreck between her mother’s bike and a semi truck in Chicago on Thursday morning. 

The accident happened on June 9th at around 8:15 a.m. in the 1100 block of West Leland Avenue in Uptown, Chicago, Illinois. 

According to ABC 7, a utility truck partially blocking a bike lane was parked next to a semi truck on West Leland Avenue when a mother on a bike with her child in a carrier tried to squeeze between the trucks. As she biked through the trucks, the semi truck began moving and startled her, causing her to lose balance. As she attempted to regain her balance, she was clipped by the semi truck and the child and child seat fell off of the bike. The 3-year-old girl was then dragged underneath the wheels of the semi truck for around 20 feet. 

The girl, Elizabeth Grace Shambrook, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. 

“We just heard screaming and then we turned around and, I’m assuming it was the father, just pounding on the truck to back up so they could pull the child out from under it,” said Tim Bartsch, a witness to the scene.

The ComEd utility truck was issued a citation for partially blocking the bike lane. ComEd has since issued a statement regarding the incident, stating that “ComEd was issued a permit by the Chicago Department of Transportation to perform work in the area, however, our investigation into the accident is ongoing.”

“I can’t imagine having cycled for many years myself in Chicago, I can’t imagine trying to navigate between that ComEd truck and the moving, delivery, semi-truck, whatever that is — very disorienting,” said Loretta Malone to Block Club Chicago. 

No further information regarding the incident, or the semi truck involved, has been released.