A volleyball tournament fundraiser in memory of a 24-year-old Wauconda High School grad, who was fatally struck by a hit-and-run vehicle near Island Lake, will be held on Saturday in Wauconda.
An outdoor sand volleyball tournament will be held all day on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at JJ Twig’s in Wauconda.
The community event will include 16 teams competing in volleyball matches, raffles, silent auctions and food.
All proceeds from the event will go toward the “Be Like Austin” scholarship, which was created last year in honor of Austin Stanek, 24, of Island Lake.
Stanek died just before 11 p.m. on September 27 in the 4300 block of Roberts Road in unincorporated Island Lake.
911 callers reported a male, later identified as Stanek, had been struck by a vehicle that fled the scene.
Stanek was not conscious and not breathing and CPR was started on him, according to fire department radio traffic.
Paramedics arrived and confirmed Stanek was unresponsive.
He was transported by ambulance to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Stanek was pronounced dead in the emergency room after arriving at the hospital.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that a preliminary investigation showed several pedestrians were walking on or near the roadway when a white vehicle struck Stanek.
The force of the impact caused the man to be thrown into the ditch.
A criminal complaint said the vehicle, a 2013 Nissan Murano, driven by Christine S. Eilers, 50, of McHenry, fled the scene.
Eilers did not make a report of the crash with any law enforcement agency or comply with crash reporting requirements, the complaint said.
The sheriff’s office said debris from the Nissan’s front and right side was located at the scene and collected as evidence.
Roberts Road was shut down for several hours while investigators worked at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said that investigators recovered the Nissan in a garage in Lakemoor and identified Eilers as a person of interest.
Eilers was identified as the driver involved through the course of a nearly four-month investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
She was charged on January 6 with failure to report a crash involving death, a Class 1 felony, and leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a Class 4 felony, and an arrest warrant was obtained for her.
Eilers was arrested on the warrant the same day and transported to the McHenry County Jail.
She appeared in court on January 7 and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain her pending trial.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Anthony Marin said Eilers never stopped or slowed down after striking Stanek, the Northwest Herald reported.
Marin said Eilers had been drinking at two bars earlier in the evening and she went to her boyfriend’s home in Lakemoor where she concealed her Nissan.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb denied the petition and released Eilers from custody.
Lamb ordered Eilers to be placed on electronic home monitoring with a curfew of 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. and be placed under pre-trial services supervision. Eilers was also ordered to not consume alcohol or drugs and be placed on an alcohol monitoring device.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis later removed Eilers’ pre-trial condition of electronic home monitoring, court records show.
An obituary for Stanek, who was a 2018 Wauconda High School graduate, said he died just days before his October 4 birthday.
“Athletic to his core, he loved playing baseball and basketball as a kid and after high school, diving into sand volleyball and golf. He loved the competition, but more than that, he loved the people,” the obituary said.
Stanek had a “knack for bringing others together” and was described as having an “easygoing nature” that made everyone feel welcome. “… it was impossible to be around him without feeling his positive energy.”
Stanek worked for a home remodeling services company alongside his cousin. “Together, they were a successful team designing and remodeling homes,” the obituary said.
Stanek leaves behind his parents, brother, grandparents, a large extended family and a dog.
Eilers’ case remains active and she is scheduled to appear in court again on September 11 for a status of trial date hearing.