Retired Priest 'Blacked Out' Before Fatal Hit & Run: Prosecutors

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy said a retired priest is responsible for the fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of 61-year-old Rone (Margaret) Leja, a technology teacher at St. Michael School, on Dec. 4. A second teacher was also injured.

Paul Burak, 73, a former pastor who retired from St. Mike's in 2018, is charged with aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal crash, both felonies.

• 1 Teacher Dead, Another Injured In Orland Park Hit-And-Run
• Fatal Orland Hit-And-Run Driver In Custody: Police

Leja and third-grade teacher Elizabeth Kosteck were crossing a service road outside Square Celt Ale House and Grill headed back to their cars around 8 p.m. Dec. 4 when they were hit, according to police. McCarthy said good Samaritans attempted to aid the two women, and multiple people called 911 during what he described as a "chaotic scene."

Leja and Kosteck were both taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where Lega was pronounced dead.

McCarthy said around 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, investigators located and seized the vehicle believed to have been involved in the crash, a light gold 2016 Buick Regal, in a garage on Canterbury Court in Palos Heights.

"The owner of the vehicle (Burak) was detained at that time," the police chief said during a news conference. Investigators would not say what led them to Burak's car.

McCarthy said Burak had attended the same Christmas car party as Leja and Kosteck, who was released from the hospital the day after the crash.

Priest said he 'blacked out'

McCarthy said Burak left the scene of the crash and did not contact police. He declined to comment on whether a medical condition may have played a role in the crash, or what Burak's blood-alcohol level was at the time of the crash.

Asked whether Burak was aware that he struck the victims, McCarthy replied, "I don't know."

Just before the fatal crash, a witness asked Burak if he was OK to drive, according to court documents, NBC Chicago reported. Prosecutors said Burak hit another vehicle while backing out of his parking spot before heading north through the parking lot and striking the victims.

Another witness reportedly followed Burak's vehicle in their own and eventually approached Burak's car, but Burak drove away. Court documents claim Burak struck a curb while driving by a nearby Panda Express, at which point the witness confronted him, took a photo of his license plate and told him to go back to the scene of the crash, CBS reported.

Burak did just that, according to court documents, but did not speak to police at the scene or tell anyone he had hit Leja and Kosteck.

Documents said Burak, who told police he has Parkinson's disease, claimed he'd had two drinks and "blacked out" prior to the crash, saying the last thing he remembered was being helped into his vehicle by two people, NBC reported.

Burak reportedly told police he did not know he had hit the victims, saying he thought he struck a curb and a parking block.

On Saturday, Burak appeared before a judge, who set his bond at $10,000.

Watch Saturday morning's press conference:

Statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago

After Burak's arrest, the Archdiocese of Chicago issued the following statement Saturday:

The Orland Park Police have announced that the retired pastor of St. Michael Parish in Orland Park, Fr. Paul Burak, has been charged in the December 4 accident that took the life of Margaret (Rone) Leja and injured Elizabeth Kosteck, both teachers at St. Michael School (Orland Park). We are cooperating with the Orland Park Police and have no further information at this time.

As a community we continue to grieve the loss of Ms. Leja and the injury to Mrs. Kosteck. We again offer our heartfelt condolences, support and sympathy to their families and are keeping them and all affected by this tragedy in our prayers.

Who is Father Burak?

Fr. Paul Burak was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and educated in the Catholic faith at Little Flower and Saint Linus parishes, according to TribLocal.

A YouTube video dedicated to his life-long involvement with the church said that he "began his ministerial journey as a seminarian and later a priest at Mundelein."

For 17 years, Burak served as pastor at Our Lady of the Ridge in Chicago Ridge before his appointment as pastor at St. Michael Church in Orland Park.

"I truly believe in the depth of my heart that I am where I am meant to be, that I am where God wants me to be," Burak said in a letter to the parish in 2009 following his arrival to St. Michael.

According to St. Michael Parish, Fr. Paul Burak retired from the ministry in June 2018.