A woman has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a bicyclist in Highland Park this year.
Maureen Wener, 49, was biking about 12:40 p.m. June 2 when the driver of a Jeep Wrangler struck her near the intersection of Deerfield and Piccadilly roads, according to Highland Park police and the Lake County coroner’s office.
Police say Melanie Hass, 41, was driving the Jeep and didn’t stop after striking Wener, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Hass, of Mundelein, was charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Wener rode her bike often across Lake County, according to her father, Cliff Wener.
She was a “volunteer for the good of mankind,” her father said in a past interview with the Sun-Times.
“She was a great person, a friend and a great family member,” her father said. “She was caring, thoughtful, and yeah, all the good stuff has gone: being a good mother, a good wife and being kind, considerate and caring.”
Wener served on the Deerfield District 109 Board of Education and was treasurer of the West Deerfield Township Democrats. Before that, she served on the Deerfield Public Library Board and was executive director of the 10th Congressional District Democrats.
“Maureen Wener was a wife, mother, and friend to so many of us. She was an important part of our local community,” the 10th Congressional District Democrats said in a statement. “...(She) was a wonderful person who was deeply committed to helping make our world a better place.”
Wener’s husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hass last month. A hearing is scheduled for February in that case.
