Mount Prospect widower sues driver who struck wife

A Mount Prospect man has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages against the Elk Grove Village woman who drove the vehicle that struck and killed his wife in a pedestrian crosswalk in June.

Plaintiff Eric T. Jakubowski is identified as the administrator of the estate of his late wife, Joni Beaudry, in the wrongful death suit against Hanna Burzynska.

Though Jakubowski has previously criticized the design of the crosswalk at Central Road and Weller Lane in Mount Prospect - and the police report that said Beaudry's entering the crosswalk on her bicycle contributed to the collision - the newly filed lawsuit names only Burzynska as a defendant.

But that may change, Jakubowski's attorney John Cichon said Tuesday. There is information being sought from Burzynska that will likely result in an amendment of the lawsuit, he said.

Burzynska could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The lawsuit also names Jakubowski and Beaudry's five children among those who've suffered emotionally and financially from Beaudry's death June 9.

"Eric is a remarkable husband and father and is doing everything he can to move his family forward," Cichon said. "What is the new normal? Joni herself was an incredible person."

Burzynska paid $364 in fines and court costs last year after pleading guilty to failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk, driving too fast for conditions and improper passing of a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. A fourth citation, for driving in violation of a condition of her license because she wasn't wearing her glasses, was dismissed.