In a sobering reminder of the potential consequences of distracted driving, Lora Hunt (left), 49, of Morris, Ill., was convicted of reckless homicide for killing 56-year-old Anita Zaffke (right) in a car accident. Hunt was painting her nails while driving and did not see Zaffke on her motorcycle as she approached a traffic light in Lake Zurich, Ill., a suburb northwest of Chicago.
The defense argued that had Hunt been eating a sandwich or dialing a cell phone, she would not have received the same charge, but the prosecution did not see it that way. Lake County, Ill., prosecutor Mike Mermel compared painting one’s nails to being in the backseat making a sandwich while the car was moving.
After his mother’s death, Gregory Zaffke II, started an activist group called the Black Nail Brigade. The group’s purpose is to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.
Convicted of reckless homicide, Hunt will appear for sentencing on June 15 and faces a penalty ranging from probation up to five years in prison.
