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Trial begins in death if Buffalo Grove student

Testimony opened Monday in the trial of a Lake Forest woman charged with failure to report a crash that killed Buffalo Grove High School senior Mateusz Szakola in April 2007.

According to reports, Szakola, 18, was crossing Lake-Cook about 11 p.m. when he was struck by a vehicle. Police say he then was hit a second time by another car traveling in the opposite direction. That vehicle is believed to have been driven by Catherine J. Cirrincione.

Witness Elizabeth Kozlowski, of Buffalo Grove, testified Monday she saw the dark car traveling in front of hers hit something, then slowed her own vehicle and noticed the victim's body. She stopped and told her daughter to call 911, she said. She testified the vehicle in front of hers "drove away fast."

Police issued alerts to find the driver of a black Cadillac which had left front end damage and parts of its bumper missing. Cirrincione, of the 1300 block of W. Abington in Lake Forest, turned herself in after hearing news reports of the accident. She stated that she believed she had struck something in the road and didn't stop because she didn't think it was a pedestrian, said police.

If convicted, Cirrincione, 50, faces three to 14 years in prison. Testimony resumes Tuesday in Rolling Meadows courtroom 110.

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