Reward Offered For Info On Fatal Hit-and-Run Lake Zurich Accident

Whenever a teenager dies in a motor vehicle collision, the victim's family is plunged into unfathomable grief. The teen's loved ones experience a wide array of emotions ranging from anger to sadness to denial to despair. But it's even worse when a teenager perishes in a hit-and-run auto accident where the offending driver is never apprehended, because it makes it much harder for the teen's family members to find closure knowing that the person responsible for their loss is still at large.

That's why the family of an 18-year old Lake Zurich woman is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible. Back on Friday, July 22, the woman and two female friends were walking on a gravel shoulder alongside Church Street heading to Alpine Fest in downtown Lake Zurich. About 9:15pm, a vehicle heading south on Church Street struck the three teenagers from behind near Lake Zurich Middle School. Two the teens survived the ordeal, but the 18-year old victim died at a Libertyville hospital shortly thereafter.

The best description of the vehicle that hit the three teens is a light-colored sport utility vehicle with an Illinois license plate affixed to the rear hatch. Authorities say the SUV might have a broken hazard light cover or turn signal on the front right side. If you have any information about the incident, you should call Lake County Crimestoppers at 847-662-2222.

Certainly, it's essential that the driver who killed the 18-year old woman be identified and held accountable for the fatal crash. But it's also important to allow the victim's family members not only to achieve closure in this tragedy, but also to receive compensation for any expenses they incurred from hospital bills and burial costs. A wrongful death lawsuit would allow the teen's heirs to be reimbursed for these expenses, as well as for future wages that would have been earned by the woman. They might also be entitled to damages relating to emotional distress and loss of companionship.