Belvidere woman sentenced to 60 days in jail for fatal 2022 hit-and-run

GENOA – A Belvidere woman recently was sentenced to 60 days in jail for her role in a hit-and-run collision that killed a 59-year-old Genoa man in August 2022.

Lucia Romero, 21, of Belvidere pleaded guilty Aug. 16 in front of DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery to failure to report an accident that resulted in death.

Romero waived her rights to a jury trial June 6, according to DeKalb County court records.

In exchange for the plea, Montgomery sentenced Romero to 60 days in the DeKalb County Jail, 30 months of probation and 100 hours of community service, according to court records.

The Aug. 10 collision killed Concepcion Ortega, 59, of Genoa, who was riding his bicycle at the time of the crash, according to the Genoa Police Department.

Romero was charged Oct. 21, 2022, records show, and had been out of prison since Nov. 1, 2022, after posting $5,000 on a $50,000 bond. She originally pleaded not guilty Jan. 4.

Before her Oct. 27, 2022, arrest, Romero had been free of police custody after the August 2022 crash pending the conclusion of an investigation by Genoa police, who said in a news release that she has been cooperative with officers since she was approached by police at her Belvidere home the evening after the hit-and-run.

A DeKalb County warrant was issued for Romero’s arrest Oct. 21, according to court records.

The crash was reported about 5:55 p.m. as a car-versus-bicycle collision near the intersection of First and Washington streets, Genoa police said.

When police arrived, they found Ortega had suffered major injuries. He was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb, where he later died.

Police reported at the time that alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

The investigation was conducted through the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office and the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office.