A woman claimed in court that she was unaware she had run over a pastor’s wife, killing her at a West Town intersection as she drove her child to school in January.
A lawyer for Iryna Kalach claimed in court Friday that prosecutors had not proven she knew she had hit someone, despite evidence showing the woman accelerated twice to drive over the body of 66-year-old Halyna Hudzan.
Judge Mary Marubio released Kalach, 39, pending trial and revoked her driving privileges. But before she did, the judge said Kalach should have known that she had struck someone.
“It required acceleration on two different occasions,” Marubio said. “There was no effort to investigate who or what that was.”
Kalach faces a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident.
The crash happened Jan. 24 as Kalach turned right on a red light from Oakley Avenue to Chicago Avenue, striking Hudzan as she crossed in the crosswalk, a Cook County prosecutor said.
Witnesses saw Kalach’s Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross stop for several seconds as Hudzan’s body lay on the ground in front of the vehicle, the prosecutor said.
Kalach then allegedly accelerated forward, driving over her body. At this point, Hudzan’s body became stuck under the vehicle and was dragged, the prosecutor said. Kalach allegedly accelerated again to clear the body from beneath her car.
Witnesses who saw her drive away called 911. Meanwhile, another witness followed Kalach’s vehicle to a nearby Mariano’s, taking photographs of the car’s license plate and photos of Kalach inside the car, the prosecutor said. Surveillance video from the Mariano’s shows a child exit the car, enter the grocery store and return some time later.
Later, police towed Kalach’s vehicle from her home and recovered fibers from the undercarriage that matched fabric on Hudzan’s coat, the prosecutor said.
Kalach’s defense attorney said she was unaware that she had hit someone and carried on with her day as if nothing had happened. Kalach parked at the Mariano’s so her 12-year-old daughter could buy candy before she went to school, the attorney said. The attorney pointed out she had parked next to a police car.
“This is not a flight scenario,” the attorney said.
Marubio asked the attorney if this scenario contradicted statements Kalach gave to police when her car was being towed, citing a police report that was not mentioned in the court proceeding. The attorney declined to answer, then noted Kalach was cooperative with police.
A prosecutor gave a brief rebuttal, saying it “defies common sense that she wasn’t aware of” the crash.
Kalach has two prior speeding tickets, and was convicted in 2023 for driving while using a cellphone, the prosecutor said.