The man was pinned beneath a vehicle after a driver lost control in a suburban shopping center parking lot.
MORTON GROVE, IL — A pedestrian was rescued Wednesday morning after a car struck him and pinned him beneath a vehicle in an Aldi parking lot in Morton Grove, officials said.
The crash drew police, firefighters and bystanders to Washington Commons, a strip mall at 7905 Golf Road. Officials said the man was taken to Lutheran General Hospital and was expected to recover. Morton Grove police said he did not appear to have suffered major injuries.
The crash happened shortly before 11 a.m. in the parking lot outside the Aldi store, where police said a car lost control and hit the pedestrian and three parked vehicles. The impact left several vehicles damaged and trapped the man underneath a black Mercedes, according to video from the scene. Morton Grove Fire Chief Will Paces said firefighters had to raise the vehicle enough to free the man. “We had to lift the car slightly to get him slid out from underneath the vehicle, and then we initiated our medical care,” Paces said.
Cellphone video showed a woman kneeling near the trapped man, talking to him and holding his hand while help arrived. Officials have not released the pedestrian’s name or age. Witnesses described a sudden crash that shook nearby vehicles and sent people running from stores. Mian Hafeed said he was inside his car when the impact happened. “I was using the phone. And all of a sudden, you know, something hit, and my head basically hit the roof of my car,” Hafeed said. He said he got out and saw the man beneath his vehicle.
Muhammad Moten, who was working inside a nearby vape shop, said he heard what sounded like an explosion before he ran outside. Moten said people tried to keep the man alert while emergency crews responded. “I saw the old man is underneath of the car,” Moten said. He said a woman asked the man questions and stayed with him because he appeared to be alone. The exact number of witnesses who helped before firefighters arrived was not clear. Officials did not say whether the driver was injured.
The crash happened in a busy commercial area along Golf Road, a major east-west route through Morton Grove and neighboring suburbs. Washington Commons includes several storefronts and a shared parking lot, where shoppers and workers were present when the collision happened. Video from the scene showed heavy damage to multiple vehicles, including the Mercedes under which the pedestrian was pinned. Police said three parked cars were struck, but they did not release a full damage estimate.
Police have not announced charges or citations. Investigators were still working to determine why the vehicle lost control in the lot. Moten said the crash appeared to involve a late-model gold-colored Toyota, but officials had not publicly confirmed all details about the vehicle or driver. The investigation remained with Morton Grove police, who were reviewing the circumstances of the crash, the path of the vehicle and witness accounts from the shopping center.
The rescue ended with firefighters freeing the man and beginning medical care at the scene before he was taken to Lutheran General Hospital. Officials said the outcome could have been worse because the pedestrian was fully trapped under the vehicle. The scene also showed how quickly shoppers, store workers and first responders moved from confusion to rescue. Witnesses said the first moments after the crash were loud and chaotic, then focused on keeping the man calm until crews could lift the car.
As of Monday, police had not released the pedestrian’s identity or a final cause of the crash. The next step is the completion of the Morton Grove police investigation into what caused the driver to lose control.
Author note: Last updated June 8, 2026.