Bicyclist hit, killed by driver in Logan Square

CHICAGO – Kevin Clark, a Chicago musician famous for playing the drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in the 2003 film “School of Rock,” was struck and killed by a driver early Wednesday while he biked in the Logan Square neighborhood.

Clark, 32, was riding westbound in the 2600 block of North Western Avenue around 1:20 a.m. when he was struck by a 20-year-old woman driving a Hyundai Sonata south on Western Avenue, police said.

Paramedics found Clark at Logan Boulevard and brought him to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he was treated for “trauma throughout the body.” He died at the hospital shortly after arrival, around 2 a.m.

Police said the woman was not injured and has been issued citations for her role in the crash. Further details were not immediately available.

The crash occurred near the intersection of Logan Boulevard, Western Avenue and Kennedy Expressway, which has been identified as one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. In 2008, a 22-year-old male cyclist was struck and killed by a driver while riding his bike through the intersection. That year, he was one of four cyclists killed in bike-car-collisions in Chicago within an eight-month period.

Statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation show that accidents have steadily increased in the state in recent years, with higher numbers in Chicago and Cook County driving up those crash figures.