CHICAGO, IL – Illinois State Police (ISP) have identified the victim of a tragic car accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Friday morning. Rosia Mitchell, an assistant principal at Brookwood Junior High School, was ejected from a Jeep Wrangler and became a pedestrian on the roadway.
Two vehicles struck her, one of which fled the scene. The Jeep then ran off the road and struck a concrete median barrier. Mitchell was pronounced dead on the scene.
According to investigators, state troopers responded to a report of a person laying on the roadway around 5 a.m. on southbound I-94 at 28th Street. Mitchell was later identified as the ejected passenger.
The reason for Mitchell’s ejection from the Jeep remains unknown, and the investigation is ongoing. The accident caused the closure of all lanes at 31st Street, which reopened just before noon
Mitchell had worked for the district for 15 years, starting as a reading teacher at Brookfield Junior High and later becoming a basketball coach.
For the past four years, she had been an assistant principal at Brookwood Middle School and Brookwood Junior High School. In a notice to families, Brookwood School District 167 Supt. Bethany A. Lindsay expressed her condolences and said a crisis response team would be available to support students and staff.
