First reported 7/21/2011 3:51 p.m.
A 30-year-old Bellwood man on Monday reportedly was out of the hospital, less than a week after he was seriously hurt after apparently being struck by two different vehicles while crossing Harlem Avenue on his bicycle near 26th Street in Riverside around 3:40 a.m. on July 19.
Police reported that Lester J. Roundtree suffered a head injury, a broken leg and other injuries and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment. As late as Thursday evening, he was listed in serious condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Contacted Monday for an update, the woman said Roundtree was no longer at the hospital.
Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said Roundtree was a part-time employee of the Edward Don Company, which is located in North Riverside on the northwest corner of 26th Street and Harlem Avenue.
A North Riverside red light camera recorded the incident, according to police, and appears to show a southbound silver sedan striking Roundtree, who was crossing Harlem Avenue just south of 26th Street from west to east. That car didn’t strike Roundtree head on, but knocked him to the pavement.
After falling to the pavement, a small pickup truck just seconds behind the sedan, also appeared to strike Roundtree, according to police.
Neither vehicle stopped to check what happened. Police arrived within 1 minute and 10 seconds of the 911 call, said Weitzel, but neither driver was found.
“The bike was dragged,” said Weitzel. “One of the two drivers knew they hit something.”
According to Weitzel, the video feed from the red light camera is grainy, so police have been unable to get license plate numbers or definitive information on the makes and models of the vehicles involved. The video is being sent to the Illinois State Police to be enhanced, Weitzel said.
“The camera doesn’t flash the light to take a picture unless there’s a violation,” said Weitzel. “It’s poorer quality because the car didn’t blow a red light.”
When officers arrived, Roundtree was “bleeding profusely,” said Weitzel, but was conscious at the scene.
