The father of Elizabeth “Beth” Dunlap, the teen killed in an auto-pedestrian accident in Downers Grove, Illinois, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver involved. Randall Dunlap, commenced an action against Joseph Kucharski of Naperville at the DuPage County Circuit Court on Tuesday, July 28th.
Court documents showed that the bereaved father brought the action as the executor of the victim’s estate after Kucharski received a seven-year sentence for reckless homicide. The man pleaded guilty in January, and a DuPage County court sentenced him last week.
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Randall’s lawsuit accuses Kucharski of willful, wanton conduct, and wants the court to grant $50 000 for each of the six allegations before it. The plaintiff also wants reimbursement for medical fees, funeral, and burial expenses.
The victim suffered severe injuries and damage to her brain and died in a hospital two days after the convict struck her. The accident report showed that on February 19th, 2019, Kucharski struck Beth as she crossed the east side of Main Street at about 11 a.m. The girl was crossing the four-lane road to her school, Downers Grove North.
The Downers Grove Police said that the convict entered the northbound lanes from the south by running a red light. He later admitted to the investigators that he was driving under the influence and had been smoking crack cocaine for several days before the occurrence. He also said that he fell asleep while behind the wheel minutes before the collision.
Kucharski could have gotten probation or up to 14 years imprisonment. Randall believes the seven years the man got was insufficient, hence the lawsuit. The convict remains at the county jail, where he awaits transfer to state prison.
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