Woman killed in go-kart hit-and-run crash was 'very special,' family says
An Elgin woman killed after she was hit by a car while driving a go-kart is being remembered as a joyful person who always helped others.
Yajayra Huerta, 29, was the sole occupant of the go-kart heading west on River Road in Marengo Township when it was rear-ended by a Toyota Camry about 10:20 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. She was taken to Woodstock-Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:04 p.m. Saturday, McHenry County Coroner Anne Majewski said.
"We are devastated," said her mother, Trinidad Calderon of Carpentersville. "It was a huge loss for me and my family."
The driver of the Toyota, 26-year-old Brett Herold of Marengo, fled the scene and was later found and arrested, officials said. He was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident resulting in a death, a Class 4 felony, and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Herold was released on bond Monday and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 15.
Huerta, the youngest of six children, grew up in Carpentersville, graduated from Dundee-Crown High School and took classes at Elgin Community College, said her cousin, Jose Balleno Calderon of Sleepy Hollow.
"She liked to laugh a lot, she was a fun person. She got along with everybody," he said. "She was always helpful to everybody. A couple of her friends came here (to the family's house) this weekend after they heard, and they were talking about how she helped them during hard times."
Huerta lived in Elgin with a roommate and worked in billing at a medical office in Schaumburg, her mother said. "She was my baby," she said.
"She was a very special woman for me and my family," she added. "She was a really happy woman, you never saw her angry. The way she was, she always had a smile on her face."
Huerta was attending a gathering of friends and family at a ranch in the Marengo area the night she died, her family said. She asked to borrow the go-kart from its owner and somehow ended up on the main road, possibly because it was dark and she didn't realize where she was, her cousin said.
"Everybody was there. All of a sudden they heard a big 'bang,' and they went to see rushing what it was," he said.
An autopsy showed Huerta died from blunt trauma to the brain, spine, chest and abdomen, according to the coroner's office. Her death remains under investigation, authorities said.
Visitation is 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, at Dundee Funeral Home, 525 Dundee Ave., East Dundee. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, at St. Monica's Catholic Church, 90 N. John F. Kennedy Drive in Carpentersville, followed by burial at Dundee Township East Cemetery, 420 Dundee Ave., East Dundee.