Milton Pillacella-Ayora had come to Chicago from Ecuador as a teenager and was working as an Uber driver to save up money for a house.
Monday night, Pillacella-Ayora had picked up a passenger and was stopped at a red light on the Near West Side when a silver SUV pulled up and someone inside opened fire, according to Chicago police.
Pillacella-Ayora, 31, was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead. The passenger, 34, was taken to the hospital in fair condition with gunshot wounds to the legs.
Police said four people were inside the SUV when it fired at Pillacella-Ayora’s car around 9 p.m. at Roosevelt Road and Blue Island Avenue . No one was reported in custody.
Pillacella-Ayora was the oldest of four siblings and lived with his younger brother, according to his stepmother Rosanita Leon, 55.
“He was a loving and wonderful person that was very hardworking,” Leon said. “He was not the kind of person to get involved with the wrong people.”
Leon said Pillacella-Ayora had told her he had plans to buy a house after saving up for years.
“He came to this country as an immigrant and worked so hard to achieve his dreams,” Leon said. “One never knows when your life will be cut short.”
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2023. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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