NW Indiana man charged in Illinois woman's hit-and-run death

CHICAGO (AP) - A northwestern Indiana man has been charged in the hit-and-run death of a suburban Chicago woman.

Fifty-year-old Joseph Luecke of St. John, Indiana, was charged Dec. 16 with one count of failure to report an accident resulting in death. He appeared for a bond hearing Monday at the Markham Courthouse where his bond was set at $50,000. It's unclear if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Police say Luecke struck 42-year-old Penny Pearman of Chicago Heights along the Lincoln Highway on Nov. 4 and drove away. She was pronounced dead at the scene along the highway near Ford Heights.

Cook County Sheriff's Thomas J. Dart says a police investigation found that Luecke was the driver of the pickup truck that struck and killed Pearman.