Juan Martin Marquez Luna

Juan Martin Marquez Luna was struck by a hit-and-run driver at approximately 5:15 a.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026, while riding an e-bike through the intersection of Archer and Laramie avenues in Garfield Ridge on Chicago's Southwest Side. Police told the Chicago Tribune that a blue pickup truck first struck a black sedan that was turning at the intersection, then continued moving and hit Marquez Luna. The pickup truck's driver fled the scene and, as of this writing, has not been identified or arrested.

Marquez Luna was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition. He died there early in the afternoon on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, two days after the crash. An autopsy performed on September 16 by the Cook County medical examiner's office found that he died of multiple blunt force injuries, and his death was ruled an accident.

The crash occurred at the same intersection where Maria Ochoa Flores, an 84 year old woman, was killed in May 2025 after a car turning at the corner was struck by another vehicle and pushed into her. Local news outlets covering Marquez Luna's death, including the Chicago Tribune, Streetsblog Chicago and Hoodline, noted the coincidence of location and used it to renew scrutiny of traffic safety along Archer Avenue, pointing out that the nearest speed cameras on that stretch of road are positioned well away from the Laramie intersection.

A wake for Marquez Luna was scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026, at a Chicago funeral home, to be followed by burial at Resurrection Cemetery. Community and street safety advocates in Garfield Ridge have pointed to his death, alongside Ochoa Flores's, as evidence of the need for redesigned intersections and additional enforcement along the corridor, a debate that had already been underway in the neighborhood over proposed bike lanes and other Complete Streets upgrades to Archer Avenue.

Marquez Luna was born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico. Family remembrances said he grew up near the Church of the Capuchins and served as an altar boy, linking childhood faith to the tone of later tributes.

He made his home in Garfield Ridge on Chicago's Southwest Side, part of a Mexican immigrant community that spans Archer Avenue corridors. Public accounts emphasize family life rather than a public career.

He was married to Maria "Meche" Merced Contreras and was father to Clara, Cristian, Modesta "Poly," and Ilse. The family announcement named eight grandchildren and spoke of his warmth, humor, and unconditional love.

Around 5:15 a.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026, on the 5600 block of South Archer at Laramie, a blue pickup struck a turning black sedan and then hit Marquez Luna on an electric cycle. Police said the pickup driver fled on foot. Images and Streetsblog reporting described the vehicle as an e-moto under Illinois definitions rather than a conventional pedal e-bike.

He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition and was later reported in a coma. He died on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at age 54.

An autopsy attributed death to multiple blunt force injuries. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled the manner of death accidental while Chicago police Major Accidents continued investigating the hit-and-run.

In May 2025, Maria Ochoa Flores was killed at the same Archer and Laramie corner after a turning vehicle was struck and pushed into her. Coverage of Marquez Luna's death repeatedly tied the two cases together.

Streetsblog Chicago argued for a four-to-three conversion with turn lanes on Archer, noting similar redesigns elsewhere on the corridor and the absence of nearby speed cameras at Laramie. Advocates said both fatalities illustrated the cost of delay.

ABC7 Chicago identified him publicly; Univision Chicago reported his Jalisco origins and family statement; the Chicago Tribune, Hoodline, and Streetsblog Chicago placed the crash in a pattern of Archer Avenue fatalities.

Visitation was scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026, 2 to 6 p.m., at Martinez Funeral Home, 2534 South Pulaski Road, Chicago. A funeral Mass was set for Monday, September 21, at Our Lady of the Snows Parish.

He is remembered as a father and grandfather from Lagos de Moreno whose death became a focal point for neighbors seeking safer design on a busy Southwest Side arterial.