A Chicago woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty in a hit-and-run crash that killed a road construction worker near Belmont Harbor nearly three years ago.
Bahiyyah Bost, 51, entered a guilty plea Friday to a single count of failing to report a fatal accident. Judge Michael Clancy handed down the eight-year sentence. However, because Bost spent 540 days on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial — time that counts toward her sentence — and will receive the standard 50% reduction for good behavior, she is expected to serve roughly 30 more months behind bars.
The case stems from an April 21, 2023, crash that claimed the life of 45-year-old Kenneth Hernandez. Hernandez was working in a clearly marked and illuminated construction zone in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive near Belmont Avenue when he was struck at approximately 10:50 p.m., according to prosecutors.
Hernandez had been standing next to a street sweeper he was operating when a 2004 Volvo driven by Bost entered the construction zone and hit him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Federal authorities later confirmed that the work zone had been properly marked and followed a site-specific traffic control plan.
Investigators said it took 16 months to build a case linking Bost to the fatal collision. Chicago police relied heavily on video footage that tracked her vehicle’s movements before and after the crash.
According to her arrest report, cameras captured Bost swerving across the center line on Fullerton Avenue near Cannon Drive shortly before heading north onto Lake Shore Drive. Less than a mile later, she allegedly drove through the active construction site, struck Hernandez and continued on without stopping.
Authorities say the crash was not the only incident that night. After the fatal collision, Bost allegedly struck another vehicle near 3958 North Clarendon Avenue and fled that scene as well. With her windshield significantly damaged, she then ran a red light at Sheridan Road and Pratt Boulevard, narrowly avoiding three pedestrians who were in a crosswalk, police said.
Officers arrested Bost roughly two hours after Hernandez’s death when they located a damaged Volvo and identified her as the driver. However, prosecutors needed additional evidence to prove she was behind the wheel at the time Hernandez was hit. The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accident Investigations Unit spent more than a year assembling that evidence before formal charges were secured.
During an early court appearance in August 2024, a judge declined prosecutors’ request to detain Bost before trial. Instead, she was allowed to remain at home under electronic monitoring. That period of house arrest ultimately reduced the amount of prison time she will serve, as it counted toward her sentence.
Hernandez’s death drew attention to the dangers faced by construction workers on busy roadways. The case also highlighted the lengthy investigative process required to bring charges in complex traffic fatalities involving surveillance evidence and questions about driver identity.
With her guilty plea and sentencing, the case has now reached its legal conclusion, nearly three years after the fatal crash on Lake Shore Drive.
