Chicago, IL, November 29--An Evanston carpet store owner was struck and killed by a vehicle in front of his building while leaving work, officials said.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ed Koshgarian, 77, was heading toward his car after leaving his store, Koshgarian Orientals and Carpets at 3006 Central St. in the north suburb, when the accident occurred, according to Steve Buffo, the director of operations for the store.
He was standing in the middle of the road waiting for a bus to pass when a GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle struck him, Evanston Police Cmdr. Joe Bellino said.
An Evanston Fire Department ambulance arrived at the scene at 5:11 p.m. and took the victim to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, according to fire Chief Michael Whalen.
Koshgarian, of 3208 Bellwood Lane in Glenview, was pronounced dead at 9:23 p.m. Tuesday at the hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
The driver of the SUV, a 43-year-old woman, was cited with failure to exercise due caution, said Bellino, who declined to disclose her identity. She was due on Dec. 15 in the Skokie Courthouse.
Koshgarian had worked at the carpet store his entire life, according to Buffo. It originally was owned by his father, and had been in the family since about 1906, said Buffo, who has known Koshgarian for 28 years.
The store sells and cleans carpet and employs about 15 people in the store and about 68 who work outside the store cleaning or delivering rugs, Buffo said.
Although he had been semi-retired for three years, Koshgarian would still come into the store every day to deal with customers and help run the day-to-day operations, he said.
"He was passionate about rugs, passionate about life," Buffo said. "He was a great, great, great guy."
In his free time, Koshgarian enjoyed playing stringed instruments, such as the mandolin, guitar, and violin, and had performed in several community orchestras, he said.
He loved sports, Buffo said, who would often have conversations with Koshgarian about the Bears and Cubs.
Koshgarian had served in the U.S. Army during World War II and saw combat, but Buffo did not know where he was stationed or if he was awarded any medals.
Buffo did not know how many family members Koshgarian had but said none of them worked at the store, which was open Wednesday.
Funeral arraignments for Koshgarian were pending Wednesday morning, according to Buffo.
