Trial begins for care manager charged after elderly woman, forgotten in van, died in the cold
A 96-year-old woman may have tried at least three times to call her son before she died of cold exposure after being left unattended on a senior residence's van for hours.
Regina Adamik's cellphone was found near her body on the floor of the van on Feb. 3, 2021, at Cordia Senior Living in Westmont, a police officer testified Monday during the trial of Cordia's resident-care-plan manager, Navdeep "Andy" Dhall.
Dhall, 44, of Bolingbrook, is charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death.
DuPage County Assistant State's Attorney Heather Misura told Judge Daniel Guerin that there's no evidence that Dhall followed policy.
"He never tried to make a phone call or search for her," Misura said.
Adamik had lived at Cordia since 2014, said her daughter, Alice Patenaude. She used a wheelchair because she no longer walked and had wounds on her leg and foot.
Patenaude said a nursing contractor at Cordia recommended treatment at a wound clinic at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
The Cordia van drove Adamik to the 1 p.m. appointment. Patenaude met her mother at the clinic. Afterward, Patenaude followed the Cordia van back to Westmont to pick up her mother's mail at a table in a vestibule around 3 p.m.
Visitors weren't allowed to go to residents' apartments at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenneth Adamik, Regina's son, testified he received a call that afternoon from his mother, who said she didn't know why she was in the van. He believed she was confused because she had recently started suffering from cognitive decline.
Cellphone records indicate that shortly after 6 p.m., there were three failed calls from her phone to his.
Workers noted that she did not order dinner. A wound-care specialist also asked where Adamik was. And a certified nursing assistant texted Dhall at 10 p.m., saying Adamik was still not in the facility.
A transit log showed the bus driver marked Adamik as having been returned to the residence, according to a Westmont detective.
Authorities allege Adamik was left in the unheated van around 3 p.m. According to Misura, temperatures dropped to 18 degrees that night.
Cordia workers found Adamik around 10:20 a.m. the next day.
The van driver, 64-year-old Bert Mongreig of Westmont, has also been charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death. His next court date is Oct. 5.
Dhall's trial resumes on Oct. 24.