Woman visiting Chicago is struck and killed by speeding Corvette ‘showing off’ with another Corvette, police and witnesses say

A woman visiting Chicago with her boyfriend was killed when a speeding Corvette careened into her while “showing off” with another Corvette and cutting through traffic, according to police and witnesses.

“Very tragic,” said a witness who was driving behind the two cars early Sunday at Cicero Avenue and 65th Street. “Very irresponsible of the racers taking an innocent person’s life.”

Shawman Meireis had been visiting from Naples, Fla., a family spokeswoman said. She was killed a day before her 41st birthday.

Meireis “was a much-loved daughter, sister, aunt, and partner,” her family said in a statement.“Shawman loved music, the outdoors, and her many nieces and nephews. She was the ultimate aunt, and will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”

The driver who hit Meireis told officers he was fleeing a carjacking. But the police report cites witnesses who said the drivers of both Corvettes were racing each other before one of them collided with a car on Cicero and then struck the woman around 1:40 a.m.

Two witnesses told the Sun-Times the driver appeared to be “showing off” to the other Corvette driver. One witness said the two Corvettes, one red and the other blue, were both stopped at 63rd Street and sped off when the light turned green, cutting off drivers as they kept up with either other.

LinkedIn; photo used with family permission

The driver of the red Corvette changed lanes to overtake the blue Corvette and struck a Hyundai headed in the other direction and turning left at 65th Street. The red Corvette continued into a crosswalk and hit the woman.

After the crash, the witness saw a man grab the driver of the red Corvette. The man, who appeared to have been with the victim, “legit threw him into the street light pole,” the witness said. “And quite honestly, I don’t blame him for doing so.”

Another witness heard the man yelling, “You killed my girlfriend. You killed my girlfriend.”

“That’s when I knew we needed to come over and help,” he said. The woman was lying on the ground, going in an out of consciousness, said the man, who asked not to be named. Paramedics showed up and said her pulse was faint, he said.

The man said he overheard that the woman and her boyfriend were headed to dinner after attending a music festival in Bridgeview.

The first witness said the blue Corvette continued without stopping. “Coward didn’t stay a second to make sure the other driver … was OK. Drove off instantly,” said the witness, who asked not to be named.

He scoffed at the driver’s story about a carjacking. “If I personally was running from a carjacking, I wouldn’t wait at a light revving my engine. I’d run to hide from whatever is chasing me.”

The driver of the red Corvette, a 27-year-old man, was cited for obstructed front windshield and failure to exercise due care with a pedestrian in the roadway. No other charges have been announced.

Meireis grew up in Maine, then attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Boston University before receiving her MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, family spokeswoman Lauren McCauley said.

She worked as an independent consultant, most recently focused on pharmaceutical safety, research and management.

The crash happened during a weekend of “street takeovers across the city,” with drivers from Chicago’s underground car scene performing stunts at scattered intersections and at times clashing with police who tried to intervene.

Police Supt. David Brown said Monday morning there was no evidence yet that the accident on Cicero Avenue was related to drag-racing, despite witness statements. “That would be pure speculation at this point, Brown said, saying the investigation was still ongoing.”

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the Major Accident Investigation Unit was handling the case and will “use technology” to track the car “that ultimately caused the crash.”

“If there’s any connection, we’ll be able to figure out,” he told reporters. “But we don’t have that connection at this time right now. The investigation is pretty new and ongoing.”

Asked about a traffic crash report that indicates cars were speeding down Cicero ahead of the crash, Brown acknowledged the department has “statements alluding to the speculation that it might have been drag racing.”

Contributing: Tom Schuba