Driver allegedly painting nails crashes into, kills motorcyclist
A northwest suburban woman was thrown from her motorcycle and killed Saturday evening after a female motorist -- allegedly painting her fingernails at the time of the crash -- failed to stop at a red light and slammed into the bike, authorities said.
The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a southbound lane of Route 12 at Old McHenry Road in an unincorporated area near Lake Zurich, according to Lake County Sheriff’s police Sgt. Scott Morrison.
Anita Zaffke, 56, of the 1500 block of Eddy Lane in Lake Zurich, died about an hour later at Advocate Good Shepard Hospital in Barrington after suffering apparent chest and abdominal injuries from being thrown from her motorcycle, Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said.
A Monday autopsy found Zaffke died of multiple internal injuries to the chest and abdominal area, as well as a spinal fracture, according to Keller, who said the death has been ruled an accident.
Zaffke’s motorcycle was stopped at a red light at the intersection -- which Morrison described as being T-shaped with a stoplight -- when a Chevrolet Impala struck the bike from behind at a high rate of speed, Morrison said.
Zaffke was thrown “a couple hundred feet," according to Keller, who said she was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
The driver of the Chevy has been identified as Laura Hunt, 46, of downstate Morris. She has been charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and the state’s attorney’s office is investigating further charges, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said. She was also hospitalized following the crash for non-life-threatening injuries.
Keller said the woman told police she was painting her fingernails and did not notice the light was red.
“There’s a lot of analysis they still have to work out on the vehicle involved in the crash to determine speed and braking,” Morrison said Sunday evening. “The investigation is ongoing but there should be charges against the woman in the very near future.”
MORE: Cops: Biker killed by driver painting nails
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 | 6:41 AM
INCLUDES VIDEO
May 4, 2009 (WAUKEGAN, Ill.) (WLS) -- A motorcycle driver was killed when she was rear-ended by a driver who was allegedly painting her nails.
The distracted driver ran a red light and crashed into the bike, according to police, just before 6 p.m. Saturday in northwest suburban Lake Zurich.
The crash happened in unincorporated Lake County at Route 12 and Old McHenry Road.
The victim, Anita Zaffke, was wearing a helmet, but it did not save her life.
No criminal charges have been filed against the driver responsible for striking and killing Zaffke, 56, who was a Lake Zurich resident.
Prosecutors are waiting for blood and urine test results as well as the report from crash scene investigators before they decide to file criminal charges.
According to Zaffke's family, she was leaving her son's apartment. He lives in Waukegan, and she was heading back to her home. They had been there talking about plans for the upcoming Mother's Day.
Relatives say Anita Zaffke had a passion for the open road and motorcycles.
"It was pretty much disbelief at first. We went up to the intersection, just went up and down, to try to see how this could possibly have happened," said Greg Zaffke, son of Anita Zaffke.
Investigators say Anita Zaffke came to a stop on her Honda Shadow motorcycle at an intersection. A Chevy Impala driven by Laura Hunt, 48, of Morris, rear ended Anita Zaffke.
The Lake County sheriff says they never expected what Hunt told them next.
"When we spoke with Laura Hunt, we were able to determine that she had been painting her nails while driving her vehicle. She conceded to us she was not paying attention," said Sheriff Mark Curran, Lake County.
Anita Zaffke later died at an area hospital of internal injuries. Authorities are considering whether to file criminal charges against the driver and say they are waiting for results of toxicology tests and the accident reconstruction and other technical evidence before deciding what charges to file.
In the meantime, Anita Zaffke's son wears black nail polish to bring attention to the need for stricter penalties for people who hurt motorcyclists like his mom.
"I'm sure there are motorcycle groups who would like to hear about this story and potentially help us get the story out," said Greg Zaffke.
On Monday night at Hunt's home in Morris, there was no comment. But her attorney says she hasn't seen the police report and won't comment on whether her client was painting her nails while driving.
"At this point, she is really distressed. There are some things she remembers and some things she doesn't. She is distraught over this," said Ragan Freitag, Hunt's attorney.
Freitag says Hunt is a mother of five and grandmother of six. When the accident happened, Hunt was driving from Wisconsin to Des Plaines to deliver a crib to a daughter who is about to give birth.Add to Technorati Favorites
0 comments:
Post a Comment