Honorary Street Signs, Safety Measures Result From Pedestrian Tragedy

Eric Hernandez was just trying to cross a busy South Western Boulevard with his shopping cart on a rainy March evening last year.

He didn’t make it. He was struck and killed by a speeding truck.

Just over 15 months later, friends and family secured his legacy, dedicating the spot where he died at West 36th Street with an honorary street sign and ceremonial unveiling on Saturday, June 22, 2024.

Hernandez's legacy resulted in more than a street sign: 12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez worked with the community and the Chicago Department of Transportation to devise ways to make the intersection of West 36th Street and South Western Boulevard safer.

Planned safety measures include:

• Closing West 36th Street to car traffic between the boulevard and South Western Avenue. As previously reported here in the McKinley Park News, this location has been accident-prone as speeding cars on Western strike vehicles trying to cross over on 36th.
• Installing flashing speed warning signs on the approach to West 36th Street and South Western Boulevard.
• Repainting crosswalks stripes.
• Removing parking on the east side of South Western Boulevard between West 35th Street and West 35th Place.

12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez and mother Carmela Barrera review the street sign honoring Barerra's son. Photo by Matt McWilliams
Ramirez said each ward is allowed to commemorate two people each year with honorary street signs.”Eric Hernandez greatly deserves this honor, but we’re sad that he lost his life here,” she said.

Humble and Hard Worker

Hernandez’s uncle, Tony Gonzalez, told friends and family that Hernandez was a “humble and hard worker, but little did Eric know that when he left his house that day, he was not coming back.”

“This means so much to me,”said Hernandez’s mother, Carmela Barrera. She thanked Ramirez and those gathered at the dedication ceremony to honor her son.

Eric Loved Everybody

“Eric loved everybody, and if he met you one day he loved you that very same day,” she said.

Honorary street signs at West 35th Place and West 35th Street also noted Eric S. Hernandez Boulevard.

Planned street safety changes at 36th and Western Boulevard should be completed this year, 12th Ward sources said.

Lead photography by Kevin O'Neil