WEST LOOP — A 39-year-old woman who died after being hit by a dump truck while riding her bicycle in West Loop has been identified as a mother of two who worked as an athletic trainer.
Angela Park, of the 3400 block of South Prairie Avenue, was pronounced dead shortly after the crash at at 7:33 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
At 7:10 a.m. Thursday, Park was traveling north on Halsted Street in Greektown when a dump truck made a right turn onto Madison and hit her at 727 W. Madison St., officials said.
The truck’s driver was cited for striking a pedestrian in the roadway, Officer Christine Calace said. The dump truck was marked as a Lakeshore Recycling Systems truck. Police did not release the name of the driver.
A Chicago Athletic Clubs West Loop representative confirmed that Park was an instructor at Chicago Athletic Clubs.
In a statement, Chicago Athletic Clubs owner Pat Cunningham said Park started her career at Chicago Athletic Clubs in 2005. She held roles in the club’s personal training, aquatics and group fitness departments and was a triathlon coach, “an area of fitness she was especially passionate about,” Cunningham said.
“Angela was known as an inspiring instructor and coach by all that had the pleasure of working with her. We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy,” she said. “Angela will be deeply missed by the CAC community and, of course, CAC staff — many of which were close personal friends of Angela’s as well as her family.”
A friend of Park’s who declined to be named said that Park worked also had her own fitness group that she operated called Spark Multi-Sport Coaching. On Thursday afternoon, the friend said members of the Spark group, several who went on regular jogs or runs with Park, found out about the tragedy and were devastated.
According to Park’s Chicago Athletic Clubs bio, she began her fitness career as a swim instructor in the ’90s.
Park, a mother of two daughters, completed more than 100 triathlons, including two Ironman distance races, and was part of Team USA at the 2015 ITU Age Group World Championships, according to the athletic club bio.
Kristen Green, a member of the cycling community and an organizer for Ghosts Bikes Chicago, said she started to cry as soon as she heard about Park’s tragic death. With Ghost Bikes Chicago, she installs white bikes as permanent memorials where cyclists have died.
“As people talked on different cycling message boards about details of the crash, my heart just sank,” she said.
After some time has passed, she plans to reach out to Park’s family to see if they want a ghost bike put at the intersection.
Lakeshore Recycling Systems did not return calls Thursday.
A 44-story apartment tower is being built near the crash site at 1 S. Halsted St. next to the Crowne Plaza. Concrete construction barriers currently line the streets.
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