From the Chicago Tribune...
Crash scene photographs showing dark red polish splattered over the dashboard, air bag and passenger door of a car were displayed during the trial of a motorist who allegedly was painting her nails before she slammed into a motorcyclist.
Lora Hunt is on trial for reckless homicide in the death of Anita Zaffke of Lake Zurich, who was struck from behind as she sat on her motorcycle at a red light near Lake Zurich on May 2, 2009.
"She did something that in her words she admitted was a very, very stupid thing," said Hunt's lawyer, Jeff Tomczak, during his opening statements today in Lake County Circuit Court in Waukegan. "She touched up her nails."
Hunt, 48, of Morris was involved in a terrible accident, but was not a criminal, he said.
Assistant State's Attorney Mike Mermel told the jury that the evidence will show that the victim was wearing a bright green fluorescent safety jacket. The evidence will also show that Hunt continued to polish her nails even after seeing the traffic signal light turn yellow.
Mermel said Hunt was driving 50 mph at the time. She kept pressing the gas pedal and wondered why her car wasn't slowing down, he said.
"So not only did she miss a person in a bright green jacket, but she missed the brake pedal," Mermel told a reporter during a break in the testimony.
Hunt originally was ticketed for failing to reduce speed for the crash at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Old McHenry Road near Lake Zurich.
Zaffke, 56, had stopped at the intersection as the light turned from green to yellow, authorities said.
Hunt, who was driving a Chevrolet Impala, has pleaded not guilty.
Hunt admitted she was distracted by the nail polish she was applying as she approached the stoplight, according to a written statement read in court.
After realizing she had hit someone, Hunt got out of her car to check on Zaffke, according to the statement.
"I'm a nurse and I thought I had to do something," her statement read. "But it was too late."
Dr. Manuel Montez, a forensic pathologist, testified that Zaffke suffered numerous traumatic injuries, including a neck and brainstem fracture.
Blotting away tears, Heidi Bennett told jurors that she saw the victim on the day of the crash. Zaffke paid a visit to the home Bennett shared with her fiance, Zaffke's son.
"She had come to plan the following weekend, which was Mother's Day and her husband's birthday," Bennett said.
-- Ruth Fuller
