DUI charges dropped against retired priest accused in deadly hit-and-run

DUI charges have been dropped against a retired Illinois priest accused of running over two Catholic school teachers after a Christmas party, killing one of them, prosecutors said.

The dismissal comes after a “thorough review” of the case against Paul Burak, a 73-year-old former pastor at St. Michael Catholic Church in Orland Park, Cook County prosecutors told the Chicago Tribune.

“We did not seek an indictment for the offense of aggravated DUI as the evidence and facts were insufficient to support that charge,” the statement read.

Burak — who was arrested one day after the fatal Dec. 4 hit-and-run — ran over Margaret “Rone” Leja, 61, and Elizabeth Kosteck, 54, in his Buck Regal after a holiday party at a restaurant where he assured partygoers that he was OK to drive, prosecutors said.

The women, who taught at St. Michael School, a Catholic elementary school in Orland Park, were rushed to a hospital, where Leja was pronounced dead. Kosteck, who was seriously hurt, was released the following day, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Orland Park Police Chief Timothy McCarthy agreed with the decision to drop the DUI charge since sobriety tests in the case weren’t valid because Burak was arrested more than 24 hours after the accident.

Prosecutors said during Burak’s bail hearing in December that he told police he had taken medication for Parkinson’s disease and blacked out after having a Manhattan and a glass of wine at the soiree, the Sun-Times reported.

Burak told police he didn’t see the women, thinking he had struck a curb while driving from a parking lot at the Square Celt Ale House & Grill onto an access road, where Leja and Kosteck were walking to their cars, the newspaper reported.

The retired priest returned to the scene of the accident, but did not get out of the car to report his alleged role in the wreck. Another St. Michael priest ultimately drove Burak home, the Tribune reported.

Burak still faces charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving injury and two counts of causing an accident involving injury or death, prosecutors told the Tribune.

If convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal accident – the most serious charge – Burak could receive between four and 15 years in prison. The maximum sentence for that charge is one year longer than that of an aggravated DUI conviction, the Sun-Times noted.

“The prosecutors have discretion to present any evidence they have to the grand jury,” Burak’s attorney, Sarah Toney, told the newspaper. “In this case, it resulted in an indictment for leaving the scene of an accident.”

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