Post-Tribune |

Prosecutors file to include Tyler Scheidt’s death in Highland woman’s second fatal crash trial

Prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday to include Tyler’s Scheidt’s death as part of a Highland woman’s second fatal crash trial.

Lisa Damico, 51, who has epilepsy, was acquitted of reckless homicide in July after she was charged with killing the 21-year-old Highland man on August 18, 2021 as he crossed the street near the Walgreens by Ridge Road and Indianapolis Boulevard.

Months later on Jan. 30, 2022, authorities said Damico caused a second fatal crash — killing Socorro Keresztes, 70, of Munster, near the Highland Meijer.

Damico’s trial in Keresztes’ death is expected to start on Dec. 11. She is charged with reckless homicide and driving while suspended, both level 5 felonies. She is facing 1-6 years on each charge.

No decision has yet been made on the motion. A hearing is expected closer to her trial date.

Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson wrote that Damico admitted in the trial for Scheidt’s death she had a “medical condition” and claimed she wouldn’t have driven if she knew “it caused her to pass out.”

That was “relevant” to proving the Keresztes crash wasn’t just a tragic mistake, he said.

Usually, a past acquittal would be kept out of a trial to avoid prejudicing a jury.

Damico’s defense lawyer Russell Brown declined to comment.

A crash investigator estimated Damico blew through an intersection near the Meijer at 93 mph, according to court records. Police found a “very large debris field.”

As with the earlier crash, Damico denied she had a seizure, while police found seizure medication in her vehicle, according to court documents. She tested negative both times for drugs or alcohol.

Damico had admitted Jan. 30, 2022 to police she was driving on a suspended license. That was due to the failure to pay a ticket in Porter County, a previous lawyer said.

When police were called to the intersection of Indianapolis Boulevard and Ramblewood Drive, Keresztes’ silver Hyundai was half on the curb near the First Financial Bank sign, while Damico’s blue Volvo was in the Panda Express parking lot, 250 feet across the street, charges state.

Damico said she “blacked out,” then woke up to see her car was wrecked, not remembering how she crashed, an affidavit states. She thought the damage was only to her car, police wrote.

Earlier, witnesses flagged down an officer to Keresztes’ car. The front end was smashed and he couldn’t open the doors to help her, records state.

Witnesses told police Damico’s car wove in and out of Indianapolis Boulevard before she appeared to go into the east bound turn lane, did not brake before speeding through the red light and slamming into Keresztes’ car.

A witness said she pulled over and held Keresztes’ hand until she died, an affidavit states. The crash was caught on traffic cameras.

A native of the Philippines, Keresztes, the matriarch of her family, was “gentle, caring, and selfless” and had recently retired in 2020 after working more than 25 years at Franciscan Health, an online fundraising page and her obituary said.

She is survived by an adult daughter and extended relatives.

A GoFundMe page said Keresztes was headed to Meijer that morning to pick up ingredients to make banana bread.