Discharge hearing to decide fate of West Chicago driver
Now that 84-year-old Ramon Barajas of West Chicago has been found incompetent to stand trial in a criminal proceeding for last April's death of Christina Jankowski a DuPage County judge must decide how he spends the rest of his days.
Barajas, of the 8oo block of East Grand Lake Boulevard in West Chicago, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and failure to yield in connection with last April's crash in Hanover Park that killed the 30-year-old Jankowski.
Assistant State's Attorney Sean Kinsella argued Wednesday for Barajas to be found "not guilty," meaning he could be involuntarily committed despite being unable to participate in his own defense at trial.
Defense attorney Tim Martin, however, argued Barajas, who suffers from mild to severe dementia and plaque on his brain, should be acquitted of the charges. If acquitted, Barajas, who is free on $50,000 bail, would be released to his family.
Kinsella said Barajas failed to yield around 8:20 p.m. on April 24 when he turned left at Army Trail and County Farm roads, causing the collision with Jankowski.
Witnesses testified during the first day of Barajas' hearing Wednesday that Barajas, wearing a baseball cap, plowed his gray Mercury Grand Marquis into Jankowski's burgundy motorcycle and left the scene driving south on County Farm Road.
Donna Siciliano, 50, was at the intersection waiting to turn when she heard a loud pop. After the noise caught her attention, she said, she saw Jankowski's helmet flying 15 feet into the air and then Jankowski lying lifeless in the middle of the intersection.
Martin said Barajas' family members called him the next day when they realized their father may have been involved in the crash. He then made arrangements for Barajas to turn himself in, despite the fact Barajas had no memory of the collision.
Martin said Barajas called his son the next morning and told him the car had been broken into because he saw broken glass. When his son arrived and found his father vacuuming glass from the car in the driveway, he realized his father had been in a crash.
Hanover Park officers testified Wednesday that Barajas was unable to remember any details about the collision during the investigation despite several attempts to jog his memory and even revisiting the scene of the crash the next day.
The hearing resumes at 10 a.m. Thursday, and Judge Jeffrey MacKay said he is likely to reserve his judgment until next week.