A man who was speeding more than 30 mph over the limit when he struck and killed a Romeoville High School junior stood up in court Tuesday and apologized to the teen’s family.
Tomasz Maciaszek, 25, faces up to five years in prison after being convicted in September of reckless homicide in the 2008 death of 17-year-old Christina Jungkans. His sentencing was pushed back to Jan. 18 after a judge gave defense lawyers time to review Maciaszek’s Facebook postings, which prosecutors want to use to rebut his public apology.
On May 9, 2008, at 2 p.m., Maciaszek was driving about 70 mph east on 135th Street, passing several vehicles “in an unsafe manner,” when his Mazda slammed into the side of Jungkans’ Pontiac, prosecutors allege.
Jungkans, an honors student who hoped to become a military attorney, had stopped at a stop sign northbound on Hale Street and was turning left onto 135th Street when her vehicle was struck.
Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Walsh said that after the crash Maciaszek was mostly concerned about his vehicle.
“(He) got out of his car and was upset about damage to his vehicle — not to the girl he had just killed,” he said.
Maciaszek’s attorney, Ted Hammel, pleaded with Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to sentence his client to the Will County Jail instead of sending him away to prison, noting that he had no prior criminal record and had performed several hundred hours of community service.
“I admit I was wrong — to Christina’s family whom I’ve never officially met, I give you my sincere apology,” Maciaszek said, his lower lip trembling as he looked over at the gathered family. “Sorry.”
Jungkans’ family said that while Maciaszek may feel remorse, he deserves to spend time behind bars.
“I am an empty shell,” her mother, Marie Pouk, said in court. “My life ended the day Christina’s ended … and I now wait for (my own) … physical death, anticipating the day that I will be reunited with my daughter.”
It’s unclear which of Maciaszek’s Facebook statements prosecutors want to use, but he has sometimes posted about going to parties despite telling the judge he suffered from depression and “secluded” himself in his bedroom since the crash.
“I really believe that if he was obeying the law my granddaughter would be alive today,” Jungkans’ grandmother, Bernice DiCharia, said outside court.
“She was a really good person — she just lit up the room,” said her friend Monika Szwab, 20, who was awaiting a visit from Jungkans on the day she died.
