Woman, 66, injured in hit-and-run during Chicago anti-ICE rally upset she can’t attend Saturday mass protest

Heather Blair went downtown Tuesday evening to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, but the 66-year-old straggled behind the crowds because the demonstration “felt a bit tense.”

As Blair walked with her husband through the first block of East Monroe Street, she said she saw a red car accelerate toward them around 6:20 p.m.

“The next thing I know I’m being dragged to the sidewalk,” she told the Sun-Times. “People are asking me if I’m okay, and do I need an ambulance. And I said yes.”

The driver who struck Blair was stuck between police vehicles on State Street as thousands gathered in the area. The driver ignored orders to turn onto Monroe Street and sped toward a crowd. One officer tried to stop the car and pulled on the driver’s-side door handle, but the driver sped off.

Chicago police haven’t reported any arrests in the crash, or a motive. The car is registered to a woman from Wisconsin, a police report shows. She didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The department is investigating the incident as a “hit and run, traffic crash,” records show.

Blair was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she learned she suffered a broken arm from the impact of being struck by the 2003 Kia Spectra, which fled past other demonstrators.

Blair said her teeth also “took some impact,” so she’s scheduling follow-up appointments with doctors and trying to figure out how her insurance will cover her care.

She said she’s disappointed she won’t be able to attend Chicago’s “No Kings Day” demonstration on Saturday, part of the nationwide protests planned to counter the military parade Trump has planned in Washington on his 79th birthday.

“I think I’m too beat up to go,” she said, noting wistfully that she already had a “nice sign ready to go.”

A retired federal worker, Blair said she went to Tuesday’s protest to advocate for a “better, more fair immigration system.”

“Trump is going too far with snatching people off the street. He’s ended asylum, threatening to deport people to Sudan or Libya,” she said. “So it needs to be protested.”

Blair said she saw a silver lining after suffering her traumatic injury — everyone from fellow demonstrators to EMTs and police officers came to her aid and showed compassion. “The only bad guy is the driver,” she said.

Blair said she filed a report and hopes there will be some repercussions.

“At least they should not be driving,” she said, “because they’re a danger to the community.”

Contributing: Cindy Hernandez, Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Kade Heather and Kaitlin Washburn