Driver Accused of Painting Nails During Chicago Car Accident that Killed Motorcyclist is Now on Trial
Lora Hunt, the woman accused of painting her fingernails when her vehicle crashed into motorcyclist Anita Zaffke in a Lake County, Illinois car accident last year, is on trial for reckless homicide. At a Waukegan courtroom, the 48-year-old nurse maintained that she wasn’t putting nail polish on her nails when she fatally struck Zaffke.
The 56-year-old Lake Zurick motorcycle rider had stopped at a traffic signal when she was rear-ended by Hunt’s Chevrolet Impala. While Hunt acknowledged painting her nails while behind the wheel of her vehicle she says that she wasn’t doing that as she arrived at the intersection where Zaffe’s bike was stopped. Also, says that she didn’t stop because even though the traffic light had turned yellow, the vehicles around her were still moving. However, in Hunt’s written statement Hunt to police, she said that she was “distracted.”
Our Chicago, Illinois car accident lawyers cannot caution motorists enough about the dangers of distracted driving. Seemingly harmless tasks and actions can prove fatal when you do them while you are operating a motor vehicle. Earlier this year, a woman was charged with reckless driving for causing a car crash because she had been shaving her private parts and operating her vehicle at the same time.
Other distracted driving activities that can lead to car crashes include reading, applying makeup, watching movies, playing games on a PDA, surfing the Internet on a laptop, and of course, texting and/or talking to the cell phone while driving. When these kinds of activities distract a motorist to the extend that a traffic crash happens, injured parties may have grounds for a Cook County car accident lawsuit.
Woman testifies she stopped painting her nails before fatal crash, Chicago Sun-Times, May 5, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Distraction.gov
Distracted Driving Campaign, National Safety Council
