Prosecutor: Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run of Island Lake man had been drinking

A McHenry woman — charged in the hit-and-run that killed an Island Lake man in September — didn’t stop or call police, had been drinking in bars earlier that night and, afterward, concealed her vehicle in her boyfriend’s garage, authorities said Tuesday during the woman’s initial court appearance.

Christine S. Eilers, 50, was arrested Monday and charged with the Sept. 27 hit-and-run death of Austin Stanek, 24, according to a release from the McHenry County sheriff’s office. Authorities said the defendant also goes by the name Christine Pine but that Eilers is her legal name.

Eilers is charged with felony counts of failure to report a crash involving death and leaving the scene of a crash involving death, court records show.

Eilers made her initial appearance on the charges in McHenry County court Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors asked she be held in McHenry County Jail while she awaits trial, noting she left the state shortly after the crash occurred to visit family.

Eilers’ attorney, Matthew Hickey, countered that she has been in McHenry since returning from that brief trip to Iowa. Judge Cynthia Lamb ruled that Eilers could be released from jail with conditions that include electronic monitoring and house arrest.

On Sept. 29, Stanek was walking along the 4300 block of Roberts Road near Island Lake with a group of people just before 11 p.m. when a white vehicle struck him, authorities said at the time.

Stanek was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Barrington, where he later was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

In court Tuesday, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Anthony Marin said Eilers struck Stanek from behind with her car and drove on, “never slowing down or stopping.”

Later that night, according to the prosecutor, Eilers went to her boyfriend’s home in Lakemoor, told him she had been in an accident and was distraught; they parked her white SUV in his garage underneath a covering.

Within days of Stanek’s death, authorities announced they’d identified a person of interest and found the vehicle believed to have been involved.

When the investigation eventually led to that car, authorities found it had damage consistent with the crash and the debris left behind, Marin said in court Tuesday. The car’s internal GPS and surveillance footage showed she had been drinking at two bars earlier that night. The GPS also placed her car at the scene of the crash when it occurred, Marin said. The prosecutor added Eilers called her attorney after the crash but did not call 911.

Hickey noted Eilers told her lawyers where her car could be found, and that was shared with authorities.

Eilers appeared at the hearing in jail-issued clothing and showed no outward signs of emotion.

Stanek’s memorial service was held on what would have been his 25th birthday. In the months since his death, his family has set up a GoFundMe page, Celebrating Austin’s Spirit with a Scholarship, to raise funds in his name. Stanek was a 2018 graduate of Wauconda High School.