No blame in Dundee pedestrian death

A Kane County Coroner's jury Wednesday faulted no one for the death of a 66-year-old East Dundee woman struck and killed by a pickup truck while crossing the street.

But jurors encouraged police to obtain phone records for the driver to further investigate whether he was distracted.

Diane Bonitzer of East Dundee was struck Aug. 25 as she walked across Route 31 at Willow Lane/ Strom Drive in West Dundee shortly after 10 a.m.

Police Detective Chris Diori testified at an inquest Wednesday that witnesses reported seeing a white 2007 Chevrolet Silverado hit Bonitzer as it turned left onto Route 31 from Willow Lane.

The driver, 31-year-old Francisco Rodriguez of Elgin, told police he didn't see the woman and later tested negative for drugs and alcohol. There were no obvious signs of distracted driving, Diori said.

Chief Deputy Coroner Loren Carrera said Bonitzer, a registered nurse, died of severe skull fractures and brain injuries less than an hour later at Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

One of Bonitzer's daughters, Michelle Strmiska, said her mother was running errands and had just visited the post office at that intersection when she was killed.

Strmiska, who was accompanied by an attorney, questioned a lack of tire marks on the pavement and said she was "insulted" the death would be considered anything other than homicide.

"It's black and white," she said. "Someone died because of what someone else did. I just think there was something going on that day, that he wasn't focused."

Another daughter, Kristin Boorse, also took the stand, noting her mother was "struck so hard, her body was moved nine to 10 feet."

"It was not a mishap," Boorse told jurors. "Whether you kill somebody with a gun or a car, that's what you're doing."

Police said Rodriguez stopped immediately after hitting Bonitzer and was sobbing on the side of the road when officers arrived. Rodriguez, who did not appear at the inquest, was ticketed for failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. But the Kane County State's Attorney's office declined more serious charges, Diori said.

After nearly an hour of deliberation, the jury ruled Bonitzer's death as undetermined, but issued a recommendation that police investigate the driver's cell phone records from the time of the incident.