A judge ordered a driver detained pending trial after prosecutors say she struck a Mundelein woman, killing her and her unborn baby, in Waukegan and fled the scene as officers arrived.
Rosalinda Vaca, 49, of Waukegan, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a Class 1 felony.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 9:34 p.m. Sunday to the area of Grand Avenue and Jackson Street for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Savannah Halcomb said a repo driver witnessed a car strike a pedestrian and called 911.
Emergency crews arrived and found the pedestrian, later identified as Michelle Heidbrick, 36, of Mundelein, who had been hit by a vehicle.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Craig Neal said Heidbrick was found lying unresponsive in the westbound lane of Grand Avenue.
Lifesaving measures were performed by paramedics on the critically injured woman.
An ambulance transported Heidbrick to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room. Her unborn baby also died.
Halcomb said part of the crash was partially caught on the repo driver’s dash camera.
The video showed Vaca’s car, a black 2016 Land Rover SUV, enter the camera’s view just after the vehicle struck Heidbrick.
The video showed Heidbrick sliding across the ground from the impact, Halcomb said.
Heidbrick’s fiancé told investigators he was walking with her at the time of the incident when she received a phone call.
The two were walking on the sidewalk and Heidbrick turned and started to cross the street, walking south, while on the phone.
Heidbrick was struck by the vehicle and the fiancé said the vehicle did not remain at the scene, Halcomb said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital around 11 p.m. and took possession of Heidbrick.
An autopsy performed Monday showed that Heidbrick died as a result of blunt force injuries as a result of the vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Grand Avenue was completely shut down late Sunday evening as investigators worked at the scene, which was cordoned off by crime scene tape.
Surveillance video recovered from the BP gas station where the crash occurred showed the Land Rover pull into the gas station. The driver did not exit the car, Halcomb said.
Police cars could be seen responding to the scene with their emergency lights activated, at which time Vaca’s vehicle could be seen pulling out of the gas station and driving away, Halcomb said.
Neal said in an update that Vaca was identified as the driver involved on Tuesday.
Vaca turned herself in to the Waukegan Police Department and was interviewed with her attorney present.
In the interview, she said she was driving to Jewel Osco down Grand Avenue when she heard a thump.
She claimed she did not know she had hit a person until the next day when she saw on the news that a pedestrian had been struck and killed by a car on Grand Avenue in the same area, Halcomb said.
Investigators asked her why she pulled into the BP gas station and she said her gas light came on and she needed to get gas.
Surveillance video showed that she did not get gas at the gas station, Halcomb said.
Vaca also said she did not notice the damage to her car until the next day when she was leaving for work and that she drove another vehicle to work because the tire and steering were messed up on her Land Rover.
Vaca was transported to First Appearance Court on Wednesday morning. The Land Rover has been seized for the ongoing investigation.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain her pending trial and a detention hearing was held on Wednesday afternoon.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said that Vaca told investigators it was dark and rainy at the time of the collision and that she was not wearing her glasses which she normally wears.
McConnell argued in court that it was “abundantly clear” that Vaca knew what happened when she struck the victim with her car.
McConnell said Vaca has a prior felony conviction from the early 2000s and has a prior reckless driving conviction, as well as five speeding convictions.
She also has a prior domestic battery case that was ultimately dismissed but she violated her pre-trial release conditions in that case while it was pending.
McConnell said Vaca is a danger to the community and there are no conditions of release to mitigate the threat she poses.
Attorney Robert T. Ritacca, who is representing Vaca, said his client wanted to do the “noble thing” and turned herself in.
He also said that Vaca has been cooperative in the investigation and denied that any alcohol or drugs were involved.
Ritacca said his client realizes how horrific the case is but that she “made a mistake” by not wearing her glasses, resulting in “tragedy.”
He argued that conditions of pre-trial release could mitigate any threat she poses.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition to detain Vaca pending trial and called the situation “tragic.”
Nerheim said it was clear to him based on the evidence that Vaca was aware she had struck the person.
The judge said he was concerned with her past criminal history and failure to comply with court orders.
The victim’s sister, Nicole Heidbrick, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Michelle Heidbrick was 22 weeks pregnant with a boy at the time of her death.
Her sister said that Michelle was the mother of an 18-year-old son and had seven nieces and a nephew.
“She loved to joke around a lot. She was always making people laugh. Michelle was looking forward to starting the next chapter in her life,” Nicole Heidbrick said.
The family created a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the funeral expenses.
Vaca remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday morning for a status hearing.