A Lake County judge set a Nov. 7 trial date Tuesday for a Highland woman charged in two fatal crashes.
Lisa Damico, 51, is charged in two separate criminal cases with reckless homicide, a level 5 felony. She has pleaded not guilty.
Her next court hearing is June 28, where the court will likely be updated on the progress both sides make to subpoena medical records.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7. The trial may take four days, lawyers said.
Damico is charged in an Aug. 18 fatal crash near the Highland Walgreens on Ridge Road and Indianapolis Boulevard that killed Tyler Scheidt, 21, of Highland, who was a pedestrian.
She is also charged in a Jan. 30 crash on U.S. 41 and Ramblewood Drive, near Meijer in Highland killing Socorro Keresztes, 70, of Munster.
In both cases, Damico was driving at least 85 mph, investigators said. Damico, who said she has epilepsy, denied she had a seizure in both crashes, while police found seizure medication in her vehicle, according to court documents.
She tested negative both times for drugs or alcohol.
In a housekeeping matter, Judge Salvador Vasquez approved putting Damico’s case on the court’s trial calendar.
He joined the two cases for now onto a single case. Attorneys have the option to petition to separate both as it continues.
Defense lawyer Michael Campbell said he objected to connecting the two cases and would likely exercise the right to petition to split them later.
Linking the two cases would be “inflammatory,” partly given the cases’ high publicity, he said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Keith Anderson told Vasquez they would prefer to try the cases together.
Campbell petitioned the court to cut Damico’s portion of her home detention monitoring fees, telling Vasquez she has had a “very difficult” time finding work. She had used up her savings to post her bail, he said.
She was “not a flight risk,” saying Damico didn’t have a car or her license.
Vasquez granted Campbell’s motion, with Damico paying half of the fees and the other half to be picked up through the county.
He asked Damico if she understood a rundown of the new dates and the change to her fees.
“Yes, I do,” she replied.
