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Settlement Deal Offered in Civil Case For Deadly Melissa Lech Hit & Run

The civil case against a Naperville man who allegedly ran down a young woman from Joliet and then fled, leaving her to die, has a settlement agreement on the table.

 

The family of a 20-year-old Joliet woman left for dead on the side of McDonough Street has offered to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for $250,000.

The settlement deal calls for attorneys representing the estate of University of Illinois student Melissa Lech to get $84,325.09 of the settlement. Half of the remaining $165,674.91 will go to Lech's mother, Maria Lech. Melissa Lech's two sisters, Monica and Michelle Lech, would split $82,837.45, according to court papers.

Melissa Lech, a Plainfield South High School graduate, was run down on McDonough Street in August 2008. On the night of her death, she drank on the way up to a White Sox game, continued drinking at the game and on the way back to Joliet, and then headed to the Jefferson Street bar City of Champions, a source close to the case said.

Lech, under the influence and underage, was denied service at City of Champions, the source said. She was apparently on foot when she was run over about a half-mile away on McDonough Street.

The identity of the driver who hit Lech remained a mystery for three and a half years. In 2009, with the case still unsolved, her mother filed suit in Cook County Court against City of Champions, the White Sox, At Your Service LLC, Chisox Corp. and various others. The lawsuit was still pending when David McCarthy IV, a 28-year-old son of Naperville attorney David McCarthy III, was arrested in February 2012 and charged with the deadly wreck.

McCarthy reportedly turned up on the doorstep of Lech's sister Michelle and confessed to the hit-and-run accident. McCarthy remains in custody at the Will County jail on a $1 million bond and faces two felony charges in connection with the alleged hit-and-run accident.

The Cook County lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed soon after McCarthy's arrest, according to court records.

Neither the attorney for Lech's family, Frank Cservenyak, nor McCarthy's father, who is listed as the lawyer representing him in the civil matter, could be immediately reached for comment.

The next hearing on the civil case was set for Feb. 25.

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Related Topics: Bar, Fatal, Hit And Run, Jail, Lawsuit, Melissa Lech, White Sox, and Wrongful Death

tina durbon

10:07 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013

So sad R.I.P. Melissa, you were way too young

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Bethany

12:13 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Why would you sue a bar that DIDN'T serve her, according to this story?

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GlockG22Shoots40s

9:44 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

that's the way the lawyers do it... go after anyone with money.... I guess Champions is at fault because the owner didn't give her a ride home.

Phillip Cleary

1:50 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

So the money will replace a child and sibling?

Why would they sue the bar? Because they can.

.

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Kevin S

7:15 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

I'm no math wizard but, I believe the two sisters would have to share $82,837.45, not receive that much each in order for the numbers to add up. Definitely a tradgedy, but it takes some cajones to go looking for money given the circumstances.

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GlockG22Shoots40s

9:45 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The article says the two girls will split their prize.

Flora Dora

11:56 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

At least the young man had a conscience.

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Reality Bytes!

12:04 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

$250K is not a lot of money, this kid's dad is a lawyer... I am willing to bet that there is some intimidation or fright tactics being used on the family, or the lawyers are working together instead of in the best interest of the family. They had to endure 3 years of not knowing who killed their loved one, that is heart breaking! I can say first hand, not knowing is torture, I've been there....

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