Woman Free on Bail in Fatal Wedding Crash

Bridgeview, Ill. - Anna Ogrodny, a 24-year-old Burbank woman is free on bail Tuesday afternoon, charged in the crash at a weekend wedding that left a man dead and his wife seriously injured.

At a hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse, Judge Joan Margaret O'Brien set bond for Ogrodny at $300,000, ordered to give up her passport and told her she's not allowed to drive if her family posts bond for her.

Ogrodny left the courthouse in a waiting car not long ago, and the Cook County Circuit Clerk's office said her family had posted her $30,000 bail. Her family, some of whom sobbed during her bond hearing this morning, declined comment afterward.

Zbigniew "Ziggy" Mak spent his last night alive dancing and having a good time with friends at the Palos Hills wedding reception for the son of a former co-worker and his new wife.

Mak's night ended in tragic death early Sunday after a BMW sport utility vehicle police said was driven by Ogrodny slammed into him and two others, pinning him beneath, according to police.

They said people were leaving Ogrodny's sister's wedding — where Ogrodny served as the maid of honor — at the Belvedere Chateau, 8055 W. 103rd St., when the SUV plowed backward into Mak and his wife, Anna, wedging him underneath the vehicle. It took as many as 15 men to lift the SUV off of Mak, 52, of Bridgeview, who was pronounced dead just after 3:15 a.m., police said.

"He was a very good person. You can ask anybody who knows him," Mak's 35-year-old stepson, Bartlomiey Grzywacz, said Monday. "I'm upset. We were very close."

Ogrodny, 24, turned herself in to police Monday morning and was charged later in the day with one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, both felonies, police said. She was being held overnight at the Palos Hills police lockup.

The crash happened about 2:30 a.m., and Ogrodny fled on foot, leaving the SUV at the scene, Deputy Police Chief James Boie said.

"She was gone when we got there. Nobody tried to stop her, I guess. I don't know, they were more worried about the victims," Boie said. "This was a mess. When we got there it was quite a scene."

Anna Mak remained hospitalized Monday at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and was listed in fair condition, according to a hospital spokesman. Her son said she had a broken leg and hip and underwent surgery Monday. The third victim suffered only minor injuries.

Anna Mak is aware of what happened to her husband, but "doesn't remember much" about the crash, Grzywacz said,

Police have been hampered by language barriers with some of those who witnessed the crash, Boie said. Many only speak Polish or limited English, he said.

George Malysz, owner of Belvedere Chateau, declined to comment Monday on the accident.

Mak's co-workers at Hoist Liftruck in Bedford Park were still shocked Monday afternoon by his death. Co-workers said he worked there for about 15 years and was considered one of the plant's best welders.

Marge Gatz, the human resources manager at Hoist, said co-workers dubbed him "Ziggy" and that he was always an upbeat person known for his hard work and long hours.

"He was one of the go-to guys," Gatz said. "He was very well - respected. The guys are going to miss him."

Mak's supervisor, Sebastian Kowal, said Mak would call his mother in Poland nearly every day to check on her health and regularly worked 10 to 12 hours per day.

"It's a shock," Kowal said of the death. "A bunch of people can't believe what happened."

Stanley Stusonski, a fellow welder who also attended the wedding, said, with Kowal acting as interpreter, that he believed that Mak and his wife did not drive to the wedding and were going to be picked up. Stusonski said he left the reception about midnight but saw Mak and his wife dancing and having fun most of the night.

"It was a great wedding," he said.

Grzywacz, who lived with his mother and stepfather, said he was not looking for the driver to face criminal charges.

"It's not going to bring him back," he said. "She has to live with this through her life."

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