Highway Shooter Who Killed Buffalo Grove Mom Could go Free in 6 Months

BUFFALO GROVE, IL - It seemed as though justice had been served this past week when a Wisconsin judge sentenced a 21-year-old man who fatally shot a Buffalo Grove mom on an interstate last May to 40 years in a state institution. The judgement was handed down after four doctors ruled Zachary Hays was severely mentally ill and a judge found him guilty due to mental defect for Tracy Czaczkowski's death. While 40 years, the maximum commitment period, seems fair on paper, Hays will actually be able to begin to petition the court for his release in just six months, the Daily Herald reports.

Under Wisconsin law, Hays will be able to start asking for his release in December, and, if he does, would be appointed a mental health expert who would evaluate him and decide if he is fit to go free, according to the Daily Herald. The court then must grant his release unless there is "clear and convincing evidence" he could harm himself or could harm others.

Hays, of West Allis, Wis., opened fire on an SUV on I-90/I-94 near Lake Delton, Wis., on May 1, 2016. Tracy, a passenger in the SUV, was hit in the neck by a bullet as the family of four was headed back from a vacation in the Wisconsin Dells. Her husband tried to render medical aid to her as they waited for paramedics, police said Monday.

Tracy Czaczkowski was taken to UW Hospital in Madison where she later died as a result of a gunshot injury. No one else in the SUV was injured.

Greg Czaczkowski told the court Monday how Hays' actions has devastated him and his two young children, according to a Daily Herald article earlier in the week.

"My children lost their mother in the most horrible way, and all while they watched," Greg Czaczkowski said. "I relive that moment 10 times a day, every day. I have a hole in my heart that will never heal. I will never forget your face -- ever -- and what you did to our family."

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Hays suffered from schizophrenia and four doctors ruled he was mentally unstable in the months leading up to the shooting in May 2016, according to WISC-TV. The doctors determined Hays believed groups, including the FBI, were following him and would drive cars with tinted windows. This lead him to open fire on the Czaczkowski' SUV, which also had tinted windows.

Following the interstate shooting, several police agencies engaged in a high-speed chase in pursuit of Hays, whose SUV was stopped when he drove over road spikes. He got out of his vehicle, refused to drop his gun and was shot by Columbia County sheriff's deputies.

Hays also faces a first-degree reckless homicide charge for a homicide that took place earlier in the day about 90 miles away in West Allis. Police believe he killed his neighbor Gabriel Sanchez, 42, according to the Daily Herald. He is set to go to trial in that case on July 5.

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