It was supposed to be a typical late Friday night on campus, the kind where students and locals are just starting to wind down or heading home after a long week. But everything changed in an instant at the corner of Green Street and Mathews Avenue. Around 2:13 a.m. on Saturday, a horrific hit-and-run crash took the life of 22-year-old Perry Lee, leaving a community in shock and investigators searching for a driver who vanished into the night.
The chaos started when a red Buick Verano came tearing down Mathews Avenue. According to police, the driver was going the wrong way on the one-way street, pushing the car at a dangerously high speed. At the same time, a University of Illinois police officer was out on a routine patrol, heading east on Green Street. The Buick slammed into the squad car with enough force to send the sedan spinning wildly out of control.
Just a few feet away, Perry Lee was standing with a group of four other friends. They were on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of the intersection, simply waiting for their turn to cross the street. They never saw it coming. The out-of-control Buick veered off the road and plowed right into the group, striking Lee and leaving him with critical, life-threatening injuries.
In the frantic moments following the collision, as witnesses rushed to help, the driver of the red Buick did the unthinkable. Instead of checking on the people they had just hit, the driver jumped out of the car and took off on foot. By the time emergency crews arrived on the scene, the driver was long gone, leaving behind a trail of destruction and a young man fighting for his life.
Paramedics rushed Lee to Carle Foundation Hospital, but despite the best efforts of the medical team, he was pronounced dead later that morning at 9:44 a.m. The University of Illinois officer involved in the initial collision was also taken to the hospital. Fortunately, the officer’s injuries were minor, and they have since been listed in stable condition.
The loss has hit the Urbana community hard. City officials and local leaders have expressed their deep sadness over the tragedy, with heartfelt condolences pouring in for Perry Lee’s family and friends. It’s the kind of senseless event that makes everyone hug their loved ones a little tighter, especially given how quickly a normal night turned into a nightmare.
Right now, the Urbana Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit is working overtime to track down the person behind the wheel. They’ve teamed up with the University of Illinois Police and State Police, scouring the area for any surveillance footage or witnesses who might have seen where the driver went. If you know anything—even the smallest detail—police are asking you to call them at 217-384-2320 or reach out to Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477 to help bring some closure to this heartbreaking story.
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