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No motive seen in SUV driver accused of striking woman and her daughter, then circling back and killing mother

CHICAGO — Zoraleigh Ryan was just steps away from safety.

She didn’t like walking down Hubbard Street with her daughter late Monday night, so she decided to duck into a hotel and call for a ride. They were crossing Hubbard, about to enter the Courtyard Marriott, when they heard the screech of tires and saw a silver Ford Explorer racing straight for them.

Ryan was hit first, then her 20-year-old daughter. The SUV stopped and the driver got out, standing about 10 feet away as a bystander rushed to tend to the women. Then he got back into the SUV, circled the block and came at them again, according to police and prosecutors.

The bystander was able to pull the daughter clear, but the mother was struck again and dragged down the block. She died at the scene. The SUV driver sped off, crashing into barricades as he eluded police, but he was arrested later in the night when he went to police and claimed the Explorer had been carjacked.