The Indiana Court of Appeals denied a Highland woman’s bid for a reduced prison sentence Monday following her second fatal crash in less than a year.
Lisa Damico, 53, was convicted of reckless homicide in the Jan. 30, 2022, crash that killed Socorro Keresztes, 70, of Munster, near the Highland Meijer.
Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced her to five years in prison in February.
In her appeal, Damico argued Vasquez abused his discretion by factoring in her fatal Aug. 18, 2021 crash that killed Tyler Scheidt, Scheidt, 21, of Highland, was crossing the street near a Highland Walgreens on Ridge Road.
A jury acquitted her in Scheidt’s death in July 2023.
In the Keresztes’ crash, although Damico technically didn’t have a criminal record, Vasquez said it was “absolutely improper” to ignore her driving record leading up to her death.
This “pattern is one that cannot be ignored,” he said, adding the crash was sadly “predictable.”
Highland Detective Jason Hildenbrand testified Damico “slid on some ice” in May 2021 and crashed into a Calumet Township Dunkin Donuts sign. She allegedly killed Scheidt in August 2021.
Then, in October 2021, Damico drove the wrong way on I-94 in Porter County, hitting a semi and then flipping into a ditch. The semi “was forced across multiple lanes of traffic and caught fire,” court documents note.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Terry Crone rejected Damico’s argument. He wrote Scheidt’s death was “one piece of the puzzle” that painted Damico as a “selfish” driver who ignored “the safety of others.”
Her sentence was appropriate, he wrote.
She drove nearly 90 miles per hour at impact in the Keresztes crash — over 2.5 times the speed limit on a busy stretch of U.S. 41, Crone wrote.
Her driving history “should have been wake-up calls,” he added.
Damico has the option to appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Her prison time was already reduced when Vasquez granted lawyer Russell Brown’s request at sentencing that she would be credited under the law for 2.5 years spent on home detention.
Her soonest release date is Dec. 16, 2025. If released, she would serve just under two years.
mcolias@post-trib.com
