RIP Anita Zaffke

[KBOlsen]

Tonight I'm attending a wake for a woman I never met... but who could have very easily been me - or any of you.

Anita Zaffke was riding her motorcycle down busy U.S. 12 in the northwest 'burbs of Chicago. She was approaching a traffic light that went from green to yellow... so she stopped.

And was slammed from behind by a brain-dead ****ing **** in a Chevy Impala who was TOO BUSY POLISHING HER ****ING FINGERNAILS to see that she was approaching an intersection... with traffic stopped in front of her...

The force of the impact threw Anita nearly 400 feet from where she was hit.

Anita was wearing all of her protective gear but to no avail.

The stupid **** driving the Impala, Lora L. Hunt of Morris, IL ADMITTED TO THE POLICE THAT SHE WAS PAINTING HER NAILS AND NEVER EVEN SAW THE BIKE IN FRONT OF HER UNTIL THE IMPACT. Lora was issued a TICKET for failure to reduce speed.

A ticket.

For God's sake, please be extra careful when approaching intersections. Leave your bike in gear, watch your mirrors and leave yourself a way out.

And when in your car - DRIVE.

Reach out to your local MRO to see what can be done to heighten enforcement of vehicular homicide laws in your state.

Thanks, ya'all.




Full story from the Chicago Tribune is below:

Charges mulled in fatal nail-polish crash
May 4, 2009 10:52 PM | 216 Comments | UPDATED STORY
Applying makeup while driving ranks up there in the danger zone with reading a book or dialing a cell phone, according to a federal report that takes aim at behavior officials allege may have played a role in a fatal collision in Lake Zurich.

Prosecutors are measuring the yawning gap between a traffic citation and felony reckless homicide as they decide whether criminal charges should be filed against a driver allegedly painting her nails when her car struck and killed a motorcyclist last weekend.

The wreck Saturday raises questions that have been fiercely debated in Illinois about whether a momentary distraction amounts to criminal behavior, comparable to drunken driving.

In the crash that killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke, 56, of Lake Zurich, Lora L. Hunt, 48, of Morris was ticketed by the Lake County sheriff's police with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Prosecutors say it may be a month before they decide whether to bring additional charges.

"We are looking into charges in the case," Assistant State's Atty. Patricia Fix said. "But we are waiting for results of blood and urine tests and waiting for the results of an accident reconstruction, as well as any other technical evidence we can derive from the scene."

State Rep. William Black (R-Danville) pointed to the wreck as another example of the need for his proposed "negligent vehicular homicide" law, which would carry a penalty of up to 3 years in prison. Black introduced the bill this year after a bicyclist in his district was killed by a motorist downloading ringtones to a cell phone.

"Our cars are entertainment centers and mobile offices," said Black. " 'I've got to do my nails,' or 'I've got to get this done before I get into the office.' It seems to be getting worse and worse."

"Driving to Springfield today, I saw three cars that had a book propped up on the steering wheel," he said. "One guy was fumbling with a map. I've seen women doing their makeup and men shaving with a battery-powered shaver."

The 2006 federal safety report estimated that a driver applying makeup is three times more likely to get in an accident than someone paying attention to the road -- about the same likelihood of a crash as someone dialing a cell phone.

The sobering statistics helped spur a Distracted Drivers Task Force organized by state lawmakers, which recommended the negligent vehicular homicide law that Black sponsored.

Under current laws, prosecutors often must choose between filing a traffic citation and trying to prove reckless homicide -- that a distracted driver's recklessness was so extreme he or she acted with complete disregard for the safety of others, officials said.

Under the proposed law, distracted drivers who cause deaths would face a prison sentence as well as a $25,000 fine and revocation of their driver's license for at least one year upon conviction.

Despite backing from Secretary of State Jesse White, opposition from the state bar association and some state's attorneys stalled the bill. Black said supporters will try again.

"There should not be a criminal penalty affixed to a simple 'negligent' mental state," said Steve Baker of the Illinois Bar Association's criminal justice committee.

About 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Zaffke of the 1500 block of Eddy Lane in Lake Zurich stopped at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Old McHenry Road as the light turned from green to yellow, authorities said.

Hunt, driving a Chevrolet Impala behind Zaffke, told police "she was painting her nails as she drove and did not see [the motorcycle] until contact was already made," according to a sheriff's department incident report.

Hunt could not be reached for comment Monday, and nobody came to the door at her ranch-style home.

Defense attorney Ragan Freitag of Naperville said Hunt, a registered nurse, was alone and had not been drinking.

--Dan P. Blake, Andrew L. Wang, and Megan Twohey contributed.

--Jeff Long and Joel Hood

[Motive]

R.I.P. Anita Zaffke

That kind of crap sickens me, that's gross negligence and vehicular manslaughter IMO.

[3OliveMartini]

unbelievable.. painting your nails while driving..

RIP Anita

[craiger]

sad.....makes me very mad. I almost got smoked on my bike by some A$$ hole playin w/his gps.penalties have to be way stiffer for these fuggers.

[1984 FLHS]

RIP Anita, As KB said and as I tell my daughter always look in the mirrors when at a stop and know your excape route.

[DeepPurple]

Originally Posted by KBOlsen

........"There should not be a criminal penalty affixed to a simple 'negligent' mental state," said Steve Baker of the Illinois Bar Association's criminal justice committee.....

What a sobering story that is, and sad to boot. I dont buy into the argument this clown makes. It seems to me, it's not so much the "simple negligent state" but more the conscious decision to STOP PAYING ATTENTION to the serious task of driving that is the criminal act. And seriously, nothing is "simple" when it results in a needless death.

RIP Anita.

[Motive]

I see people every day in rush hour traffic reading f'in books.....a book! It's going to be the same damned thing at home that it is in the car...the pages aren't going to go blank by the time they get home....FFS

[Ozbiker69]

RIP Anita. May this dumb female driver remember from this day forward, everytime that she does her finger nails, that some Innocent person has died because of what she has failed to do. Even here in Australia we have the same sort of crap going on on our roads.

[Badassbrutus]

My opinion the person who hit her should be dead they take the good ones and leave us the dumb one. RIP ANITA !!!

Prayers go out to her family and friends.....God Speed.

[Dave63]

What a fuken waste......... We need to go back to public stonings, and hangings.

Defense lawyers will make this as minor as a traffic ticket and with any luck, she'll lose her azz in Civil court.

Word to the wise who think that NOT having mirrors looks cool or is a good idea. As much as I don't wanna see something like that coming at me, at least it gives me a chance to avoid it.

Godspeed. Something we seem to be saying a lot lately.....