Attorneys for the family of a 13-year-old Wauconda girl killed by a hit-and-run driver announced Wednesday that they had arrived at a $830,000 settlement in a civil suit against the then-35-year-old Arlington Heights woman convicted in the girl’s death and an Ingleside bar that served her alcohol before the incident.
Amber Dawn Lovitz, an 8th grader at Wauconda Middle School, was struck by the defendant’s vehicle Nov. 1, 1997, as she walked along Illinois Highway 59 near Lake Villa. She died the next day at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Convicted of reckless homicide and sentenced last May to 7 1/2 years in prison was Dawn DeGuide, whose southbound vehicle swerved across the center lane and onto the opposite side of the road, striking Lovitz.
The family’s attorneys, John Kornak and Michael Salvi, accused DeGuide of causing the girl’s death by driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to drive a vehicle safely and also contended that Juke Box Sports Center, by serving DeGuide liquor, directly contributed to the accident.
In an effort to prevent future tragedies, the Lovitz family said it plans to donate a portion of the settlement to anti-drunk driving groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.