In 2005,
Anita Sue Zaffke graduated from
Four
years later (last Saturday) Zaffke was coming home from her son’s house after
making plans with him for Mother’s Day.
Hunt was traveling from one daughter’ house to another daughter’s house,
transporting a baby crib.
Zaffke
had stopped her Honda Shadow motorcycle at a traffic signal when Hunt hit her
from behind with her Chevy Impala automobile.
Zaffke died. Hunt spilled her
fingernail polish.
Today
is Friday, May 8, 2009. The Zaffke
funeral took place in northwest suburban
People
have to realize, however, that every day people are talking on the phone,
texting, eating and such while driving.
These are things we do every day, and people have to be aware of
that. These are things that happen every
day. People need to remember that – it
happens every day.
Hunt’s
lawyer is saying that drivers who choose to divide their attention are the
norm. Zaffke’s death is her own fault
because she should have known that there are drivers like Hunt sharing the road
with her.
A
biker idling at a traffic signal is completely vulnerable to a car striking
from behind. Completely helpless. Such a biker is completely dependent on the
drivers who may be approaching from behind to be in control of their vehicles. Mother’s Day is the day after tomorrow. This mother will be absent:
So
far, Hunt has been issued a minor traffic citation. The Sun-Times
reports that “it is unclear if a crime occurred.”
Hunt
should be charged with reckless homicide.
A drunk driver or a speeder willfully chooses to endanger others on the
road because he is not in control of his car.
So does a fingernail polish applier.
additional thoughts, May
12th:
Yesterday, Michael Waller, State’s Attorney for
It
is well-established that a driver may not be reckless. If he is, he is guilty of “reckless
driving”. If he kills someone, it is
“reckless homicide”. The facts of the
Hunt/Zaffke conflict are not in dispute.
The only question is whether Hunt’s behavior was reckless or not.
Hunt
was not DUI, but in Illinois DUI establishes a (rebuttable) presumption of
recklessness, and that presumption is instructive: A driver is DUI even if he is driving safely. He doesn’t have to be weaving. A driver who obeys all traffic laws and
exhibits complete command of his vehicle is still DUI if a biometric says so.
And that biometric alone establishes
recklessness if he kills someone.
So
it is not the driving behavior that enables a “reckless homicide” charge;
rather the recklessness stems from the self-imposed impairment. Drinking is legal. So is texting and so is polishing one’s fingernails. And so is self-imposed impairment.
But
if you drive with self-imposed impairment, you are reckless.
For
myself, I don’t talk on the cell phone while driving. Some people can but I can’t and I know
it. Still, I think that a law that
prohibits all phone use while driving would be overbroad. I would suggest that the phone prohibition
should apply only to men over 40 and women over 60. Compared to drinking, impairment from phone
use is more subjective.
But
we don’t need more laws about phones being hands-free and regulating the size
of keyboards used for texting and specifying the degree of detail in fingernail
decoration. What we need is more
personal responsibility.
Reckless
driving is already illegal. Distracted
driving is reckless driving – a distinction without a difference. All the media discussion about the pervasiveness
of distracted driving excuses a straw man.
distraction is not less reckless because it is pervasive. As the Tribune
describes: Right now, today, it is
against the law to polish your fingernails under certain circumstances.
Anita
Zaffke was stationary at a traffic signal when she was splattered like a bug on
Lora Hunt’s windshield. Road conditions
and visibility were good. There was no
intervening force. By her own admission,
Hunt did not see Zaffke because she was not looking. Ergo, Lora Hunt was reckless.
May 19th:
Earlier
this month, Thomas Brittenham was sent to prison
for Reckless Homicide.
From
the spot where Anita Zaffke died, it is 180 miles south to the spot where Holly
Billman died. Both Anita and Holly were
guilty of nothing. They did nothing to
contribute to their own deaths. They
both died on
Neither
Thomas Brittenham nor Lora Hunt were DUI.
Both were driving in ways that would not have attracted the attention of
law enforcement had there not been a vehicle/vehicle collision. Neither was accused of speeding. Both were simply not looking.
Thomas
Brittenham was not able to see far enough down the road because of a fog. Lora Hunt was not able to see far enough down
the road because she was painting her nails.
Thomas Brittenham will spend four years in prison for Reckless
Homicide. Lora Hunt…
June
2nd:
On June 8th, one month after the Anita Zaffke funeral,
Lora Hunt will be in court to answer the misdemeanor citation she received at
the scene. (Update: She will not go to court on June 8th
– see the June 4th entry below.)
Felony charges have yet to be made as one more blogger offers advice
for the State’s Attorney:
Overall Americans tend to have this arrogant attitude of
entitlement to "creature comforts" that is starting to not only
irritate the rest of the world but cause real harm to those around us. Add to this the asocial nature of humans
brought on by a faster paced lifestyle and even the anonymity of hiding behind
a keyboard all day, and we don't even care who we hurt – as long as it doesn't
interrupt our schedule. Yet we continue
to blame and regulate helmets, guns, acetone, ephedrine, and other inanimate
objects as the real causes of these unfortunate "I'm only human"
incidents.
Our "don't judge" attitudes take the focus off
how we can prevent so many accidents. We
do little to enforce the laws already there to prevent accidents – a failure to
use turn signals, rapid/multiple lane changes, and aggressive driving
apparently go unnoticed - but those are things that can and do cause
accidents. Now seat belt and helmet laws
abound here in the
While I don’t care if American culture “irritates” the
rest of the world, this gentleman makes several good points. If Zaffke had not been wearing a helmet,
third parties would say, “Well, she was asking for it.”
She was wearing
a helmet but it provided no defense from Hunt’s reckless actions. More to the gentleman’s point: Neither Zaffke’s helmet nor Hunt’s seatbelt
had anything to do with preventing
this “accident” – there was nothing accidental about it. Our cultural focus on making cars safer
engenders a moral hazard among drivers.
Emphasis on helmets and seatbelts deemphasizes real individual
responsibility.
Zaffke was also wearing a bright yellow jacket. Besides, she was stationary at the moment of
impact. Hunt was moving tons of steel at
highway speeds. Our cultural reflex that
Hunt was somehow not responsible is as absurd as the idea that Zaffke somehow shares
the blame.
June 4th:
In
On the Death Certificate, the manner of death is
specified. It is one of only five
things: Natural, Homicide, Suicide,
Accidental or Undetermined. These are
mutually exclusive categories – a death cannot be both Homicide and
Accidental. After the autopsy and other
evidence was gathered, Dr. Keller conducted a “case conference” with his
deputies and found the manner of death.
We now know that Anita Zaffke was not killed in an accident. She was the victim of a homicide. State’s Attorney Michael Waller has dismissed the “Failure to
Reduce Speed” misdemeanor so that double jeopardy will not prevent more serious
charges from being asserted. He
will (presumably) present this matter to the Lake County Grand Jury that will
(presumably) indict Lora Hunt for a Class 3 Felony, punishable by 2 to 5 years in
a state penitentiary.
A Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by one year in the Lake
County Jail, would be a slam-dunk. Lora
Hunt is clearly (imho) guilty of Negligent
Vehicular Homicide. Unfortunately that law does not exist. There is no Class 4, Class A or Class B crime
that fits these facts. The more serious
Class 3 crime of Reckless Vehicular
Homicide requires a showing of more than mere negligence. Alternatively, the Class C misdemeanor of
Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident typically results in a
fine of $75 and nothing more, though it can include one month in the Lake
County Jail but no more than that.
Coroner Richard Keller and State’s Attorney Michael Waller
should be congratulated on recognizing this for what it is. As soon as we can likewise congratulate the
Grand Jury we can begin the trial.
Fasten your seatbelt.
September
16th:
The wheels of justice turn slowly. It is now 4.5 months since the killing. The Lake County Grand Jury has returned a
six-count indictment. Lora Hunt is now
charged with Reckless Homicide.
There are six counts, but she did not kill six
people. Rather, the prosecution is
asserting six aggravating factors that make her behavior reckless. Remember, it is not specifically illegal to
polish your fingernails while driving your car.
However, this case will establish whether it is reckless to polish your
fingernails while any of these six conditions also exist:
1 “at approximately 50 miles per hour”
2 “approached the traffic control device
at US Route 12 and
3 “on a curved roadway surface”
4 “which was stopped at the intersection
at US Route 12 and
5 “approached the intersection at US
Route 12 and
6 “knowing she was in proximity to other
vehicles being operated on the roadway”
She was not paying sufficient attention to her driving
because she was also tending to her manicure.
That behavior triggered national discussion about “distracted
driving”.
He
said Hunt was "oblivious" to the safety of the other motorists on the
road.
"Distracted
driving is ... changing the radio station or yelling at your kids," Mermel
said. "(This) was not distracted
driving. It's almost intentionally
reckless."
In
May, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran called Zaffke's death an accident that
resulted from a "momentary lapse" of judgment. Mermel bristled at that description.
"This
was never an accident," he said.
It
should be noted that there is no legal difference between unintentional
recklessness and intentional recklessness to establish the charge of Reckless
Homicide, which is a type of involuntary manslaughter. The recklessness stems from her behavior, not
her intention. No one is saying that
Lora Hunt intended to kill Anita Zaffke, nor that she intended to kill anyone,
nor even that she intended to be reckless.
But
no one can deny that Lora Hunt was recklessly oblivious of another human being.
Anita
Zaffke was wearing bright, reflective clothing and a helmet as she waited at a
stop light on a bright, clear day. Lora
Hunt did not touch her brakes* until after impact. The only question remaining is whether she
will admit her guilt or whether she will make the incredible argument that her
right to paint her nails trumps a biker’s right to life.
*By her own admission, reported in
the
~~~
This
is Lora Hunt.
This is Lora Hunt’s drivers’ license:
And this is the arrest warrant for Lora Hunt:
October
8th:
Well, she had her chance and she blew it. Defendant Hunt stood in open, public court
and effectively announced to the world that her right to paint her nails trumps
a biker’s right to life. She could have
admitted her guilt and asked for mercy which might have resulted in simple
probation. Instead she claims she is not
guilty at all.
Which is no surprise, really. Why agree to a felony conviction if her
lawyer can “get her off” altogether?
Everybody claims to be not guilty, right? Just as her defense will undoubtedly be that
everybody polishes their nails while they roll down the highway, right? This is just a $75 homicide, right? Just bad luck, right? This is all so unfair to poor Lora. Her lawyer, Jeff Tomczak, has already started
singing
that song:
"She's
devastated, distraught by what's happened," Tomczak said after the brief
proceeding. "She was delivering a crib to her daughter when this happened
... If folks are looking for an evil person in this case, she doesn't fit the
bill."
What does he think evil looks like, I wonder. Sure would be easier on the cops if they knew
what to look for. Tomczak has all the
answers. If you are a nice person, you
should be allowed a homicide or two. No
need to admit guilt if you can demand forgiveness:
"In
my 25 years of practice, I have never met a person who has suffered worse than
Lora Hunt," Tomczak said. "She is truly sorry, very remorseful and
prays everyday for the victim and her family."
That’s right. No
one has “suffered worse” than defendant Hunt; she is the real victim. Except:
Why does she feel remorse if she is “not guilty” of anything? Why is she “truly sorry” and why does she
pray everyday for “the” (her) victim if she didn’t do anything wrong? Why does she care about Anita Zaffke’s family
if she believes that Anita Zaffke brought this on herself?
That is what Lora Hunt is effectively saying through her
lawyer, Jeff Tomczak. And since she has
not been convicted she is presumed innocent:
The judge said she can travel out-of-state for a vacation later this
month. The judge said she can travel
routinely out-of-state to her visit a daughter.
The judge said she can keep her
Let’s not get all emotional or anything. It’s not like she’s convicted. Not yet.
~~~
Brandon Gates is convicted. Three weeks ago he was sentenced to 3 years
in prison for Reckless Homicide. This 22
year-old was the driver in a single-car accident 8 months ago in which his
passenger died. His lawyer, Jeff
Tomczak, now represents Lora Hunt.
Jeff Tomzcak was elected State’s Attorney for
Donald was Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Water
Department. He hired people and he
awarded contracts to hire trucks. He
required precinct captains to canvass for Jeff and trucking companies to
contribute to Jeff’s campaign fund.
In an apparent attempt to change the subject one week
before Election Day, State’s Attorney Jeff Tomczak dramatically charged Kevin Fox
with sexually assaulting and killing his own three year-old daughter. The very next day, Tomczak announced he would
seek the death penalty. It didn’t work –
he lost the election anyway.
One week after Election Day his wife filed for divorce,
accusing Tomczak of “extreme and
repeated mental cruelty”.
Less than eight months after Election Day, Kevin Fox was
excluded by DNA evidence and released from custody. He would later win a $15.5 million jury award
for Malicious
Prosecution.
Less than nine months after Election Day, Tomczak’s 72
year-old father pleaded
guilty and was later sentenced to four years in a federal prison in
Then Brandon Gates retained Tomczak. Then Lora Hunt retained Tomczak.
~~~
An arraignment is a non-event. The constitutional guarantee of a speedy
trial is satisfied by confronting this defendant with the Grand Jury’s
indictment in front of a judge promptly after her arrest. In this case, defendant Hunt has known that
reckless homicide charges were coming since early June – four months ago and
long before her arrest.
Still, this morning she was formally and officially
informed that she had committed a half-dozen terrible offenses contrary to the
Statutes of the State of
Also, future court dates may be cancelled at the last
minute, or kept but immediately continued to a later date, and defendant Hunt
may not even appear, represented instead by lawyers. So there were several reasons that those of
us sympathetic to a biker, stationary at a red light and hit from behind,
wanted to stand for Anita Zaffke on this day.
That is why a group of bikers gathered near the home of
Anita’s son Greg whom she had visited just before her death. They rode south on US Route 12, just as she
had. They reached the intersection where
Anita was waiting for a red light. Then
they turned northeast toward the county courthouse. I was waiting for them this morning on the 21
bridge over 120. It had just started to
rain just before they passed under it.
Then they sailed on east.
I wasn’t able to join them but the newspapers were waiting
when they arrived.
Vince Pierri, Staff
Photographer, Daily Herald
They parked and demonstrated. A few of them sat in the courtroom.
Vince Pierri, Staff
Photographer, Daily Herald
And then they left.
Defendant Hunt had already gone.
But things were different now.
For the first time in five months, Greg and his father can have
confidence that mother and wife Anita will be honored within the justice
system. The possibility that her killer
could be sent to an
The individual who will speak for Anita’s vengeance – the
one lawyer most directly involved in the prosecution of defendant Hunt – is
Michael Mermel. His boss, Michael
Waller, is wholly supportive. But it is
Google reports that he is experienced, skillful, tenacious
and motivated. And this. Possibly, defendant Hunt will never go to
prison. But just as it is certain that
she will never walk the Earth again, so is it certain that Anita Zaffke will
have her day in court. That is
guaranteed by the People of the State of
A pre-trial Motion to Dismiss was originally scheduled for
January 5th, but was postponed.
The motion to dismiss the indictment was
heard on January 20th. That
afternoon, arguments were made and the judge said
he will announce his decision on February 10th.
On February 10th, the judge rejected Tomczak’s
suggestion that Hunt may have acted “unreasonably” but not “recklessly”. The principles will gather before Associate
Judge Foreman again on
March 5th to confirm that they are all on schedule. The trial is now set for May 3rd.
Anita Zaffke was killed by Lora Hunt on May 2nd
– one year earlier.
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