A tragic incident unfolded in Lakeview over the weekend when a drunk driver fatally struck a pedestrian and continued driving with the victim’s body in the car until crashing again, according to prosecutors. Despite the severity of the incident and the driver’s alleged attempt to flee, a judge known for lenient decisions opted not to detain him during a hearing on Tuesday.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara informed Judge D’Anthony Thedford that Miroslaw Ciszek, 34, was at the wheel of his Nissan heading west on Irving Park Road around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday. After stopping at a red light at Southport, he accelerated when the light turned green and struck 25-year-old Sarah Milcarek from Columbia, Missouri, who was crossing the street, as per Pekara’s account.
The collision propelled Milcarek into the air and into Ciszek’s car through the rear window. However, Pekara stated that Ciszek did not stop and continued driving until he collided with another vehicle waiting at a red light on Ashland Avenue. The other driver exited their car and observed Ciszek trying to reverse away from the scene, according to Pekara.
Ciszek’s attempts to flee were thwarted when he hit a tree, which disabled his car. Surveillance footage from Lake View High School recorded the second crash and Ciszek exiting the vehicle.
Pekara recounted that two men pursued Ciszek as he tried to enter a nearby apartment building where he formerly lived. One of the men managed to tackle him while the other called 911, but Ciszek escaped, running down Ashland. During the altercation, he lost one of his Crocs and dropped his car keys.
Meanwhile, first responders extricated Milcarek from the car and transported her to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced deceased. Ciszek evaded capture for over three hours.
Police officers eventually discovered him in a park shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday. They recognized him based on descriptions and noted he was wearing only one Croc, Pekara said. Nearly seven hours after the crash, his blood alcohol level remained above the legal limit at .088, according to Pekara.
Ciszek faces charges including aggravated DUI causing a fatal accident, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and other DUI-related offenses.
Judge Thedford denied the request to hold Ciszek in detention, instead placing him under house arrest with an ankle monitor and instructing him to avoid excessive drinking, as stated by the State’s Attorney’s Office.
In a previous report by CWB Chicago, it was noted that Judge Thedford declines detention requests nearly twice as often as his peers in the Pretrial Division at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. The average approval rate for detention requests is about 69%, whereas Thedford has approved only 42% since his election on March 17.
Following the publication of this report on May 18, Thedford’s rate of rejecting detention petitions has remained at 60% over the last five months.
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