CHICAGO — Police are still looking for the driver who hit and killed three people early Sunday outside a famous South Side gay bar, the Jeffery Pub — but they did find the car involved.
At 5 a.m., the driver of a sedan was going south in the 7000 block of South Jeffery Boulevard when they hit four men outside the bar, police said.
Several people got into an argument inside the bar, and it spilled into the street, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said at a Monday news conference. Then someone got into a car and “commits this horrific act,” hitting the men, Deenihan said.
The crash did appear to be intentional “just based upon what everybody is seeing” in videos of the hit-and-run, Deenihan said.
Three of the men were pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center. A fourth man was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was not immediately available, police said.
Two of the victims were Devonta Vivetter, 27, of Chicago, and Donald Huey, 25, of suburban South Holland, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The third victim’s identity has not yet been released.
Footage of the crash posted online by CWBChicago showed a group of people scuffling in the street when a driver in the wrong lane crashes directly into them. The car appeared to be silver or white and does not slow down or stop after striking the men. Block Club is not linking to the video after a request from a victim’s family.
Investigators found the car used about four blocks away, but they have not found the driver and no one is in custody, Deenihan said.
Deenihan asked people with information about the driver to call investigators at 312-747-8380.
“We need to know who the driver was, and we know that people out there know that,” Deenihan said.
The hit-and-run is not being investigated as a hate crime for now, though that could change as evidence is brought to light and if someone is taken into custody, Deenihan said.
No one was in custody, police said.
Jeffery Pub, 7041 S. Jeffery Blvd., is one of the United States’ longest-running Black-owned gay bars. The team that runs the pub shared condolences in a post on Facebook.
“Our hearts [are] heavy this morning that such tragic event has occurred,” they wrote. “To those that lost a loved one or friend we stand with you.”
People who have information about the driver can contact the pub. Its workers will protect the identities of anyone who comes forward with information, the staff wrote on Facebook.