Lake Zurich Police Still Investigating Fatal Hit-and-Run

It was a little more than six months ago when Gabriella "Gabby" Drozdz and two friends were walking to Alpine Fest about 9:15 p.m. on Friday July 22, 2011, when they were hit by a vehicle. Gabby was killed and her two friends sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Lake Zurich police to work the case, running down leads from tips from the public and area law enforcement, in addition to drawing clues from information at the scene of the accident that occurred on Church Street near Jamie Lane.

“We have put our heart and soul into solving this case; we understand there may be frustration and we are equally frustrated — we too want this person brought to justice,” said Sgt. Tracey Goodyear, a lead investigator on the case. “The amount of man-hours is into the thousands."

Police have focused their investigation in a variety of different directions.  

On the night of the crash, the area was shut down for more than two hours and the scene combed for physical evidence.

“Evidence left at the accident site was minimal, which has been a hindrance — there was very little to go off of because the hit was more of a glancing blow,” said Comm. David Bradstreet, another lead investigator.

Based on the little evidence there was, police were able to deduct that the driver did not hit the brakes and did not try to stop the vehicle after striking Drozdz.

They also believe the driver was headed south on Midlothian Road.

Lake Zurich police went over video from area businesses immediately after the accident.  

“We spent days sifting through video from businesses not only in Lake Zurich and nearby areas, but outside of the village to Libertyville, Mundelein and as far north and east as Waukegan,” Bradstreet said.

That effort ultimately provided video evidence that helped to focus the investigation. 

Video from a Shell gas station at Gilmer and Midlothian Roads provided a brief shot of what police believe is the vehicle that hit Drozdz. 

That conclusion was based on the time the video was taken and evidence from the scene that helped to identify the potential make, model and year of the vehicle involved.

The specific vehicle part and evidence left at the scene, which are being kept confidential to avoid compromising the investigation, points to either a light-colored GMC Safari or Chevrolet Astro van. 

“The two makes/models are sister vehicles, the GMC is the higher-end version, but both use the same parts,” said Goodyear.

The vehicle being sought is believed to be a two-tone blue van with a lighter accent color of either silver or gray.

Auto body shops and auto parts stores were contacted in the hours after the accident to warn them to be on the lookout for individuals seeking to fix damage on the vehicle, which Bradstreet said may not be obvious based on the area of impact.

“Immediately after the accident, we contacted the Illinois secretary of state to narrow down vehicles similar to initial witness accounts,” Goodyear said.

Identifying the specific make and model from the video at the gas station took a few days, and when the make and model years were determined, police were able to rule out a number of cars they had identified after working with the state.

More than 1,000 vehicles in Lake County alone fit the description and already have been checked and eliminated.

Police also have ventured into northern Cook County, McHenry and western Will County to look for the vehicle.

Electronic message boards borrowed from Buffalo Grove police were used near the crash site in the days after the accident, asking for information on the case.

Goodyear said that at the end of July 2011, Lake Zurich police hand-distributed 750 fliers to drivers in the area between the accident site and where the video was taken.

Red light intersections that continually run video also have been checked, but no new leads have been discovered.

Goodyear said a task force, including Lake Zurich, Wauconda, Buffalo Grove, Mundelein, Round Lake and Deerfield police departments, the Lake County Metro Enforcement Group, Illinois State Police and the Lake County sheriff has been formed as well.

Surveillance also has been conducted at the accident site in case the perpetrator came back to take a look at the scene.

Other steps taken by police have included neighborhood canvasses, checking parking lots of multi-shift businesses in and around the village, and sending out critical reach bulletins to every police department in the area and elsewhere in the collar counties.

The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force and experts in accident reconstructions also were consulted to ensure police had not missed anything.

“People who own the make and model vehicles sought have even come to the department so their vehicle could be ruled out of the investigation,” Bradstreet said.

Area car dealerships have lent their help to narrow down color schemes of vehicles that are called in as tips where a VIN number is provided, by using databases at their disposal.

So far, all the efforts have been to no avail in finding the hit-and-run driver.

“We have no doubt that whoever has done this knows they are responsible based on all the media coverage,” Bradstreet said.

Bradstreet said the car still could be out on the road and the missing part may have been fixed, or it could be sitting in a garage somewhere with a plan to keep it hidden.

Both Bradstreet and Goodyear are hopeful the person who committed this crime finally will turn him/herself in, or a person who may have been confided in could come forward.

Lake Zurich police plan to keep the case open, but at this point they do not have much else to go on.

“Where we go from here — we will never close the investigation until we solve it, we will follow-up on all leads and work anniversary dates because those dates can be triggers,” Bradstreet said.

“It could take years, but cases like this have been solved when a guilty conscience prevails or someone who knows who did this decides to finally tell the truth,” Bradstreet said.

To memorialize Drozdz and the scene of the tragic accident, the Illinois Department of Transportation recently provided a sign that says “Reckless Driving Costs Lives – In Memory of Gabriella ‘Gabby’ Drozdz July 22, 2011,” which was purchased by the .

In early December, Lake County CrimeStoppers and the Drozdz family announced the reward had been doubled to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver.

If you have any information about this accident, call Lake County CrimeStoppers at 1-847-662-2222. All tips can remain confidential.