A 19-year-old man has been charged after police say he was identified as the driver who struck a woman and left her for dead on the side of the road in Bolingbrook.
Eduardo Avila Jr., of Joliet, has been charged with failure to stop after having an accident involving personal injury or death and failure to report an accident involving fatal injury or death.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest with bail set at $500,000, according to officials.
Bolingbrook police said a search warrant lead them to the vehicle involved in the deadly crash on a stretch of frontage road near Lawton Lane. The 2002 Honda Accord was being driven by Avila before it allegedly hit a mother of two who had been walking along the road Saturday evening, authorities said.
Officers responded to the area around 11 a.m. Sunday for reports of an unresponsive person lying on in the grass. It was there that they discovered the lifeless body of 35-year-old Tricia Hoyt.
Police say the hit-and-run likely occurred between 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday.
The Will County coroner’s office said preliminary findings indicate Hoyt was killed as a result of multiple injuries, though a final cause of death has not been released.
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On Facebook, family and friends described Hoyt as a dedicated mother “full of life” with a “big beautiful smile.”
One post talking about her children said: “Their hearts are broken. At 8 and 6, she was everything to them. She loved them, spoiled them, taught them impressive manners, packed them daily lunches that no single kid could ever eat, dressed them impeccably, loved them unconditionally, and gave her all to them.”
Those who knew her say the New York native was looking forward to spending time with her family over the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Tricia was a very loving person whose life centered around her two adoring children," her family said in a statement. "She was caring, helpful, hard-working and most of all fun. People loved to be around her bubbly personality and she has hundreds of family members and friends that are mourning her death."
Police said 19-year-old driver's attorney has been contacted "to facilitate the custody of Avila."
