Prosecutors say Lora Hunt was painting her fingernails while driving when she struck and killed Anita Zaffke. The crash happened last May in Lake Zurich.
Zaffke's family members set up a foundation against distracted drivers after her death. Her son Greg organized a rally this past weekend about the issue.
In honor of his later mother, Greg Zaffke rode to court Monday on a motorcycle.
Regardless of the outcome, Zaffke's son says he is committed to raising awareness to the issue of distracted driving.
"We'll never make sense of it. We can only hope that justice will be done this week. My mother will never drive again. She'll never see me get married. She'll never see her grandchildren. We feel that her killer's life shouldn't go back to normal," said Greg Zaffke, Anita Zaffke's son.
Fifty-six-year-old Zaffke was on her motorbike, stopped at a red light in Lake Zurich, when she was hit from behind in a car driven by Hunt. Hunt was allegedly distracted because she was polishing her nails. Hunt's attorney says that is a fact that is hard to overcome, but he says there are many more facts to this case.
"We believe when the facts come out that it's really going to be presented that Ms. Hunt was presented with a situation, as one of the independent witnesses said, she had less than half a second to react," said Jeffrey Tomczak, Lora Hunt's attorney.
In his, 25 years of practicing law, Tomczak says, he has never had a client who is so remorseful.
If Hunt is convicted of reckless homicide she faces anywhere from probation to five years in prison.
Opening statements are expected Tuesday.
