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Former Old Town Bar Owner Charged in Fatal Hit and Run

Brett Dimick, who co-owned an Indiana University alum bar, is arrested four months after the incident

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Four months after a 27-year-old was struck and killed by a car in Wrigleyville, police have arrested and charged the former co-owner of an Old Town sports bar in connection with the incident.

Brett Dimick, 30, was arrested Monday and charged with three felonies, including reckless homicide and failure to report a crash resulting in an injury and a death. Dimick previously co-owned Hideaway Chicago, a Indiana University-themed sports bar that opened in July 2020 at 1909 N. Lincoln Avenue, previously home to Bricks Pizza. Former business partner Ryann Hill confirmed Dimick’s connection the bar, adding she sought to distance herself from “any connection to him.” On Tuesday, Dimick appeared in court where a judge ordered him held on a $500,000 bond.

Police say that around 12:35 p.m. on August 14, Dimick went through a stop sign while making a left on the 3500 block of North Fremont avenue and killed Sophie Allen and injured her friend Nahiomy Alvarez. Authorities say the women, both walking the crosswalk, were tourists from Orlando, Florida. In the months since, Alvarez told reporters that she’s begged police to make an arrest, even providing a license plate number to aid the investigation. Over the summer, several social media posts linked Dimick to the incident, and a Twitter account dedicated to his arrest popped up. Dimick was taken into custody on Monday, according to police.

Dimick’s name did not appear on Hideaway Chicago’s liquor license, according to a rep from Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP). The Old Town space is now occupied by another Hoosiers-themed bar, Za Bunker Pizza Bar, which opened in October. It’s unclear if Za Bunker is from different ownership or just a rebrand. The space’s liquor license, which remains under the Hideaway name, was renewed in September.

Dimick’s encounters with law enforcement date back more than a decade in Chicago and the suburbs. According to Chicago police records, he was arrested in May 2019 and March 2021 and charged with domestic battery.

In court on Tuesday, prosecutors said Dimick’s license had been suspended since 2008, and revoked since 2009 and he was pulled over and charged in June 2019 with a variety of traffic charges including suspicious of DUI and driving on a revoked license. He also faced a variety of other substance and traffic-related charges in DuPage, Will, and McLean counties, according to CBS 2 Chicago.

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Tricycle

1700 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL Visit Website

Small Cheval

1732 North Milwaukee Avenue, , IL 60647 Visit Website

Au Cheval

800 West Randolph Street, , IL 60607 (312) 929-4580 Visit Website