Tricia Hoyt's Family Outraged At Joliet Teen In Hit-And-Run Fatal

Less than 24 hours after surrendering to the Will County Sheriff's Department's custody in the hit-and-run fatality of Tricia Hoyt, a 35-year-old mother of two, Joliet Junior College student Eduardo Avila walked out of Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes' courtroom. A bond reduction hearing was already set on the judge's calendar for Avila, however, his family came up with $50,000 cash, which was 10 percent of the $500,000 bond that was previously set last week, before he turned himself into authorities.

The 19-year-old Plainfield South graduate faces two felonies, failure to stop after having an accident involving personal injury or death and failure to report an accident involving fatal injury or death. The Avila family has retained the legal services of veteran Joliet criminal defense attorney Cosmo Tedone.

At least 15 of Hoyt's heartbroken family members and friends, several from the Frankfort area, showed up in downtown Joliet for Tuesday's proceedings against Avila at the Will County Courthouse.

"We know it was an accident, initially," said Pam Swierczewski, a Frankfort resident who is the grandmother of Tricia Hoyt's two young children. Her son, Joe, is their father. He, too, attended Tuesday's proceedings.

Last Thursday, the Bolingbrook Police Department obtained a warrant for Avila's arrest. Hoyt, of Orland Park, was at a party in a nearby Bolingbrook neighborhood when she went for a walk along the nearby frontage road. Authorities determined that Avila struck her while driving his 2002 Honda Accord. Avila did not stop to render aid. He did not call 911. Instead, authorities surmise, he drove back to his family's home in Joliet.

Hoyt's family and friends glared at Avila and his family, who sat in the gallery across from them, before the 9 a.m. hearing. Joe Swierczewski clutched a beautiful portrait of the mother of his children. He wanted Avila and his family to look at the photo.

"Not in the courtroom," snapped the courtroom bailiff for Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes. "I know it's emotional, but you can't do that stuff in the courtroom ... This judge is strict."

After the short courtroom hearing was over, the bailiff escorted Avila and his family out of the courtroom first. She required Hoyt's family and friends to wait several minutes to leave. Eventually, Hoyt's supporters reconvened in front of the Will County Courthouse because they wanted to meet with Patch and other journalists covering the tragedy, including the Chicago Tribune.

"She was a beloved part of our family," Pam Swierczewski told reporters. "I could not have asked for a better mom for my grandchildren."

She then began to tear up.

"We miss her every second of every day."

Hoyt's supporters suggested that Avila's family knew from the start that 19-year-old Eduardo Avila was responsible for the hit-and-run crash.

"We are shocked. Their family knew and was aware of it and hid the car and hid him and let him have an extra free week," Pam Swierczewski said.

The deadly hit-and-run collision occurred early Sunday, November 5. By Thursday, Bolingbrook police sought an arrest warrant for Avila. However, he did not surrender to Will County until late Monday morning.

Hoyt's mother Donna Plis, who lives in Auburn, New York, attended Tuesday's court hearing. She was in town because the family held a funeral service Monday at a Catholic church in Matteson. Another funeral service is scheduled for Thursday afternoon back in Auburn, New York, where Hoyt grew up. The hit-and-run victim had moved to Chicago's suburbs about 10 years ago. She liked living here, had made lots of friends in Illinois and enjoyed working in the service industry.

Large groups of employees from Hoyt's past jobs, including Iron House Bar & Grill in Lockport, attended Monday's funeral service. Another one of her jobs had been at the Bottled Blonde in Chicago, friends said.

"Her most important job, and the job she loved the most, was being a mother," Hoyt's mother said.

Outside the Will County Courthouse, Pam Swierczewski made a point of singling out the Bolingbrook Police Department.

"They were on top of this investigation from the get-go," she said. "And they were relentless."

She said that Bolingbrook police developed "credible evidence" early on that pointed to Avila as the culprit.

"I don't want to say, yet, what it was," she said, explaining that she fully expected the evidence and events that led to Avila's charges will be revealed in the courtroom.

So on Tuesday morning, the large group of Hoyt's supporters gave each other tight hugs before heading back to their parked vehicles and going their separate ways.

Avila went his own way, too. Now that he's bonded out of jail, he can continue on with his life.

However, the judge told him, he will be required to attend all of his future court appearances. A preliminary hearing was set for December 20. For now, his 2002 Honda Accord remains in Bolingbrook police custody.

He will also be required to submit to random drug testing, which is standard practice for criminal defendants who post bond.

And over the coming weeks, it's possible that Joliet-area residents might notice Avila's face behind the wheel at a Joliet-area stop light, perhaps at the intersection of West Jefferson Street and Houbolt Road, given that Avila is enrolled at Joliet Junior College this semester.

During Tuesday's hearing, Judge Policandriotes imposed no drastic restrictions on the 19-year-old while his case is pending. In court, the veteran judge indicated that as long as Avila maintains a valid driver's license, he can continue to drive.

"He has a poor driving record," Pam Swierczewski told journalists outside the Will County Courthouse.

"As long as he has a valid Illinois driver's license, he will be free. He can drive away today."

Will County's court records shows the following cases involving Eduardo Avila:

March 2015: Avila was cited by Joliet police for speeding by 15 to 20 mph over the limit. He later successfully completed a court-imposed Traffic Driver Safety Program.

April 14, 2016: Avila was cited by Joliet police for speeding 15 to 20 mph over the limit.

June 2, 2017: Avila was cited by Joliet police for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and was subsequently given a traffic citation for operating an uninsured vehicle. This minor collision occurred at Wesmere Parkway and Arbor Glen Drive. In July, Avila was fined $250 and given six months supervision. He was also required to attend a driver's safety program, court records show.

November 5, 2017: Hoyt was run over by a hit and run motorist in Bolingbrook.

November 6: Avila received a certificate from Will County's judicial system. He had successfully completed his Driver Safety Program for his June traffic infractions, court records show.

Images via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak