Paige Donahue (left) and her mom, Traci Palucci. Paige was killed in a 2023 hit-and-run accident in Wheaton. The driver suspected of the fatal accident is expected to be sentenced in the case Friday. (Family photos)

Traci Palucci is struggling to put all her feelings into a victim impact statement.

Palucci, the mother of Paige Donahue, who was killed in a 2023 hit-and-run accident in Wheaton, has been told she will be given time to speak Friday afternoon in DuPage County Circuit Court when Tarra Fiedler, the suspected driver, is expected to be sentenced in the case.

“This is torture to write,” Palucci said of the victim impact statement. “I have never done this before. There are 4,000 things I want to say.”

“I could stand there for a thousand years and not be able to explain my daughter, what she was like, who she was,” the Lombard mom added.

Palucci said she has been told she will have 10 minutes to address the court and the suspect in the hit-and-run.

“I’ve waited 22 months for this,” she said. “I am going to take my time. I have a lot to say.

“Paige had epilepsy. She trusted everyone. She lived life simply. She was so carefree. There was so much to her. Words alone can’t describe Paige.”

Paige Donahue was a pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run accident in January 2023 on Roosevelt Road near Crest Street in Wheaton.

A 16-month investigation concluded in May with Wheaton detectives using advanced analysis of physical evidence left at the scene to identify the alleged vehicle and driver, Tarra Fiedler of Batavia.

The DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office did not approve criminal charges in the case and only approved issuing Fiedler with a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, saying that there was no evidence that Fiedler knew she hit a person.

A driver lacking knowledge that he or she hit a person is in the state statutes as a potential reason for not charging a driver with a felony in a hit-and-run case.

Palucci is hopeful of getting that stricken from the statutes. She plans to write to Gov. JB Pritzker about the issue.

Traci Palucci and her daughter, Paige Donahue

“I’m trying to change the law for others’ sake,” Palucci said. “I am never going to get Paige back. I am trying to make noise to prevent this from ever happening to another person again. Lack of knowledge could be the best excuse in the world.”

Meeting suspect

Palucci said she has never seen Fiedler as the Batavia woman has never been at any of the court dates, with her lawyer appearing on her behalf.

“I will tell her how I feel,” Palucci said of Fiedler. “I will give ever detail of Paige’s horrible death, how she died by herself.

“I will not spare her feelings. My daughter had to crawl across the street while she bled to death.”

She said she will never forgive Fielder for her daughter’s death.

“I would have forgiven her if she did the right thing,” Palucci said. “I could understand it was accident if she called 911 immediately, but she was so self-centered and only worried about herself. She doesn’t get my forgiveness.

“She will always be known as the person who killed the disabled girl, Paige Donahue from Wheaton … She has tarnished her family name.”

Palucci said Paige’s death has left a lasting hole in her family.

“There are not enough doctors and therapists that we could go to to ever fix this,” she said. “My granddaughter had to change schools. She wonders why the person who killed Paige has not been punished.”

Palucci said well-intended individuals have told her that the conclusion of the hit-and-run case may bring her peace.

“Peace is over. That’s not going to happen,” she said. “Peace is knowing the state is protected from injustice. Peace is holding people responsible.”

Family impact

Palucci shared one of her sons’ victim impact statement with Chronicle Media:

“Her actions show how self-centered she was. She never turned back to see what she hit. She knew she hit something … Her actions took my sister away forever. I am embarrassed that the jurisdiction where this happen views a minor traffic violation the same as taking a life.” Palucci said she likely will tell Fiedler on Friday that the last time the Batavia woman saw her kids was that morning when she dropped them at school.

“The last time I saw my daughter was Jan. 2, 2023. She took that away from me,” Palucci said. “This is my life sentence. My family and I will suffer for life.”

As a child, Paige was a professional ice skater, who skated with Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski and skated with members of the Chicago Blackhawks.

“At the age of 10, she was doing axels,” Palucci said.

However, a small stroke affected Paige’s walking and ability to compete.

“She was still good at skating,” Palucci said. “She was the most athletic kid in the house. She could outhit the boys. She was incredible at sports.”

Paige, 31 at the time of her death, had no problem going off to rock climb at Starved Rock in Ottawa.

“Nothing ever stopped her,” Palucci said. “She had epilepsy, but she never dwelled on it.”

Palucci said the lack of justice for a person who had such a full life is tough to take.

“The whole court system has done nothing but kill our family. I see how my family has been torn apart,” Palucci said. “There have been no other hit-and-runs that when the driver has been found that they haven’t been put in jail.”

She said she is not looking for special treatment from the legal system, just fairness.

“What’s right is right,” Palucci said. “I am not asking for a favor. I am just asking for what’s right.”

kbeese@chronicleillinois.com