The attorney for a Chicago woman charged in a February 2016 crash in which a 35-year-old Norridge man died said the case likely would go to trial later this year.
Irena Biskup, of Chicago, was charged with failure to report an accident involving death in connection with the Feb. 20 death of Norridge resident Tomasz W. Radke. She has pleaded not guilty.
Norridge police said Radke was crossing the street near the 7800 block of West Lawrence Avenue when he was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Biskup. Police said her car was seen on a surveillance video stopping near the location around the time Radke was hit at approximately 11:15 p.m.
The video, according to police, shows the vehicle continuing east on Lawrence after stopping. Police said Biskup admitted to being the driver of the dark-colored vehicle captured near the scene on surveillance footage.
Biskup’s attorney, Robert Nemzin, said he ordered DNA testing on Biskup’s vehicle in November, and the results of those tests were still pending. Biskup’s next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 16 in room 107 at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.
“This is a tragedy because this man lost his life,” Nemzin said. “She [Biskup] is a good woman who turned herself in.”
The State’s Attorney’s Office alleges in the indictment that Biskup knowingly failed to immediately stop her vehicle to help Radke or call police after she struck him.
Officers responded after police received several calls from motorists who saw a man lying in the road, Norridge police said. More than a week passed before Biskup turned herself in at the Norridge Police Department, police said.
She told police she was driving home from work that night along Lawrence Avenue when she thought she hit something, according to Detective Brian Loughran of the Norridge Police Department. When she looked back in her rearview mirror, she didn’t see anything and continued driving, according to a statement she made to police.
Court documents show a Cook County judge ordered Biskup to surrender her Polish passport last year, and she has appeared for several court dates since, with the most recent on Jan. 9 when a judge continued her next appearance to Feb. 16 pending the results of DNA tests.
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Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.