Police: Distracted Driver Kills motorcyclist

It's been a while so I thought I would get you up to date on this story. It hit the News again today. Link WLS Chicago News, Weather, Traffic | Chicago Area News | ABC7Chicago - abc7chicago.com | abc7chicago.com Laura Hunt (Driver) Anita Zaffke killed on her motorcycle while stopped at light. Laura Hunt charged with Reckless Homicide. The Jury is in deliberation as I write this. (8 woman and four men). The verdict should come later today or tomorrow. The defense said she put her nail polish down before she reached the intersection and the prosecution said she was still polishing her nails when she struck Ms. Zaffke. Anyway check the link later and see if more of the story is there. I will keep up with the Chicago Tribune and the networks and let you guys know when I hear the outcome

 

Great News! This just in! Just a few minutes ago Laura Hunt was foung GUILTY of Reckless homicide in the death of Anita Zaffke. Stay tuned to the link and lets see what punishment she gets. I figured the women on the jury would not go easy on her.

Link WLS Chicago News, Weather, Traffic | Chicago Area News | ABC7Chicago - abc7chicago.com | abc7chicago.com

 

That's good to hear! No difference between drunk driving and driving while stupid! They both can kill. Learn how to DRIVE or lose your license for life and stay stupid! If only.............

 

Thanks I'll let you guys know what the sentence is, or keep following it on the previous link.

 

That's the reason I leave the bike in gear at stoplights and keep my head on a swivel while I wait for the light to change.

 

My wife and I were almost run off the road a few years ago. Had we not rolled almost all the way to the shoulder we would have been impacted by a vehicle that we assumed tried to make a lane change into us without looking. As we got back onto the road we noticed that the reason the lady driving didn't see us was because she was steering the wheel with her knee as she was filing her nails. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she was swerving half way into our lane at times.
The cop behind us that didn't pull her over ( yes there was a police officer directly behind us ) can go to hell. He didn't seem to care.
Anyways, my point is this. Cagers talk, eat, do make up, fingernails etc etc. Drivers licenses are practically given away.
I am a huge supporter of our laws in CA against stupidity like cellphones, and I think they should make them more strict, and more inclusive of other distractions as well. Call me a Nazi, but 50% of the drivers out there don't even look over their shoulder before making a lane change, they just glance at a mirror with no accounting for blind spots. Add the smallest distraction to someone that can barely make it somewhere safely as it is, and you will have fatalities.
Sad story.

 

I hope this can be used as a precedent for other cases.
Far too often they just write off the rider as guilty and let the idiot driver off.

 

Five years is not enough.She KILLED an innocent bystander and should get whatever you get for manslaughter. I am so tired of the BS that goes on with vehicular crime getting almost NO punishment. Drunk drivers, sorry mate I didn't see you etc.
If you went to a crowded downtown area and decided to practice some sporting clays and someone accidently got shot then you would get 25 years minimum. What's the difference? EVERYONE knows that if you take your eyes off the road for whatever reason, you may end up killing someone. There is no defence against that.
If all the blind, stupid drivers lost their licenses FOREVER, then this type of shit would start to decline.
Well done Chicago Jury.

 

10pm news said sentencing would not be handed out for a while. The next scheduled court date will be a hearing in June to review the progress in the case. Stay Tuned!

 

I watched NBC news at 10pm they also ran the story. I just checked the website for ABC a few minutes ago and they now have the video up from the 10pm news. Please click the link and see the whole story. Anita's 32 year old son has painted the nails on his left hand black in honor of his mom. He has been doing this since the crash. It has been just about a year now.

I don't know why this story almost brings me to tears everytime I get some new information. Could be because I have riden through this intersection many times. Anybody who owns a bike and has riden from Chicago to the resort area of Fox Lake 50 miles to the northwest has also gone through this intersection. A very familiar area to all Chicago Bikers. Sad Sad Story.

Link WLS Chicago News, Weather, Traffic | Chicago Area News | ABC7Chicago - abc7chicago.com | abc7chicago.com

 

My thoughts are, if it leads the 6pm and 10pm news in a market as large as Chicago we have a chance of it doing some good for future bikers. Looks like Anita and her family gave the ultimate sacrifice to hopefully have an impact on others.

Thank You Anita Zaffke and Family. The price was too high!

 

We should start a letter writing campaign or what ever to the court system(judge) in Chicago about this. Anybody have a name and address, snail or e-mail?

 

There was a woman in Massachusetts a few years ago that was seen doing her eye make up and drove off the road killing herself.......How stupid can you be?????????? At least she didnt hurt anyone but herself.....

 

There is solace in knowing that the woman doing her nails was not on a bike and being distracted by BSing on a comm set to some dude about cornering when he was not in sight, futzing with a GPS, reaching for a cuppa on her gimbal drink holder, adjusting the cruise control, texting on a Blackberry, shootin the shit with the SO of choice, trying to find Rush on the FM band or Oprah on the AM band or other stuff that is non-distracting on a bike when she killed the other bike rider.

Thankee Jesus for teaching us to multitask at the ton.

 

Now come on here adamjenkins! She is not stupid............anymore........

 

It's sad to say but PB is probably right. She will probably on serve half of whatever sentence she gets and be let out for "good behavior". she'll probably end up in some half way house instead of a real prison where she can get ripped a new one. People like this get to live while an innocent person is now dead and gone. What ever happened to an eye for an eye???

:shocked:

 

And I guess she looked good, too! Guess that was more important to her than staying alive. Vanity kills?