Arrest made in connection with Orland Park hit-and-run crash that killed teacher, injured another

A person has been taken into custody in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Orland Park that left one Catholic elementary school teacher dead and another injured.

Orland Park police said in a statement Friday night they had “the driver” in custody but did not provide additional details.

Police said more information on the arrest would be released at a news conference Saturday morning.

About 8 p.m. Wednesday, the women were leaving the Square Celt Ale House & Grill at 39 Orland Square Drive near the Orland Park Mall when a driver turned left from a parking lot and struck them, police said.

They were taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where Margaret “Rone” Leja, 61, was pronounced dead and Elizabeth Kosteck, 54, was listed in serious condition, police said.

The women, both teachers at St. Micheal School in Orland Park, were leaving a staff holiday party, the Archdiocese of Chicago said in a statement.

Leja started working as a technology coach at St. Michael in March 2019, the archdiocese said. She previously taught at Mount Assisi Academy in Lemont.

Kosteck teaches 3rd grade and has been at St. Michael since 2005, the archdiocese said.

Investigators were looking for a suspect driving a light-colored vehicle, police said.