Post by Nictoshek on Aug 23, 2014 9:24:43 GMT -7
Andrzej Rybka is charged with reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a 2004 accident in which two people died.Hiding from authorities in Poland, Andrzej Rybka allegedly bragged he had “gotten away” with killing two people in a drunken driving crash on the Southwest Side.
Man brought back from Poland to face charges in fatal 2004 crash
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter August 22, 2014
Hiding from authorities in Poland, Andrzej Rybka allegedly bragged he had “gotten away” with killing two people in a drunken driving crash on the Southwest Side.
But after a decade on the lam, the Hickory Hills man stood before a Cook County judge Friday, facing allegations he had fled the scene after his BMW split in two, claiming the lives of Jozef Maryniarczyk and Anna Jaronczyk, both 18.
Just two days after the Oct. 10, 2004 wreck, Rybka flew to Switzerland from New York’s JFK Airport, then traveled to Poland, where he married and had children, authorities said.
Law enforcement officials issued a warrant for Rybka’s arrest in 2004 and tried to extradite him, but Polish authorities didn’t approve the request until earlier this year, Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Mack said.
Rybka, 31, was flown into Chicago against his will on Thursday before he was charged with reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly accident, Mack said.
On the day of crash, Rybka attended a picnic where he allegedly drank vodka and beer before heading to a friend’s house.
When Rybka left the friend’s house, he got into his luxury car, Mack said.
Maryniarczyk and Jaronczyk sat in the back seat and another person sat in the front, Mack said.
Within minutes Rybka raced through the streets, going through two red lights before he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a light pole, causing the car to split in half, in the 6000 block of South Archer Avenue, Mack said.
The front seat passenger suffered minor injuries.
But Maryniarczyk and Jaronczyk were ejected from the BMW.
Maryniarczyk suffered severe skull fractures, according to his autopsy. Jaronczyk suffered multiple factures and severe trauma.
Instead of tending to his passengers, the injured Rybka ran away to his friend’s house and told others that he had been in an accident and that “someone may have died,” Mack said.
The friends went to the crime scene and saw the remnants of the car but when they went back to the house, Rybka was gone, Mack said.
Rybka, who has a 2002 battery conviction, was also previously arrested for leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage but it was unclear whether he was convicted, Mack said.
Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek noted that the crash was not intentional but “an accident.”
She also told Judge Peggy Chiampas that Rybka was a productive citizen while in Poland, working and supporting his family.
“He did build a life for himself but his victims weren’t afforded that right,” the judge said.
