The fiancée of the man who was killed in a crash following last week’s Louis Vuitton smash-and-grab burglary on the Magnificent Mile spoke to ABC7 Chicago.
Roanne Masangkay addressed reporters from her bedroom at home, where she is recuperating after giving birth to her and the victim’s son the day after the crash.
Masangkay expressed a strong and proud voice, although clearly affected by the tragedy, and she seeks justice for her fiancé Mark Arecta, describing him as a compassionate and loving individual, ready to embrace his son’s arrival.
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“I could never have imagined this kind of tragedy just a few days before it happened,” Masangkay said.
In just a week, Masangkay’s life has taken a drastic turn. She delivered baby Dylan last Friday, a day after Chicago police reported that Arceta lost his life when his car collided with suspects fleeing a Louis Vuitton store heist on the Magnificent Mile, around 4:53 a.m. Thursday on the 100-block of East Walton Street.
The incident occurred at about 4:53 a.m. Thursday in the 100-block of East Walton Street along the Magnificent Mile downtown Chicago, police said.
She spoke to ABC7 via zoom, too exhausted to turn her camera on.
“He was so excited that would be his last day and the next day he was going to see his son,” Masangkay said.
Arceta had been on his way to complete his final shift as a supervisor at Northwestern Hospital’s animal research laboratory before taking a month-long paternity leave. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
“I hope the people responsible are put behind bars,” Masangkay said. “He didn’t deserve to lose his life like this.
Dylan was making their’s a family of five, focused on the future, with Masangkay set to graduate from nursing school in three months.
“We planned to purchase a bigger house for our family following our graduations,” Masangkay shared. “We intended to visit Hawaii as a gift from him to me, but it seems that dream won’t become a reality.”
The 40-year-old father, whose extended family, along with hers, is rallying behind the now widowed 38-year-old woman, will not be forgotten.
“What am I gonna tell my son about his father?” Masangkay said. “Your dad is very kind-hearted person, never harboring ill feelings towards anyone, and he was deeply loved by everyone around him.”
Masangkay and Arceta were together for five years, planning on marrying next spring.
Seven men accused in the downtown crash-and-grab burglary that led to a deadly crash are now facing charges.
Some of them appeared in court Saturday to face first-degree murder, burglary and theft charges.
The accused thieves will remain behind bars after a Cook County judge ordered 26-year-old Harvey Fisher, 37-year-old Alton Jackson, 22-year-old Anthony Hemphill and 19-year-old Keith Perkins to be held in custody pending their trials.
Cellphone video captured the moments after thieves used a pick up truck to ram into a Louis Vuitton store. A group of people could be seen running in and out of the store with stolen items. The thieves then get into several vehicles and speed off, police said.
In court Saturday, prosecutors said the crew managed to take nearly $700,000 dollars in merchandise before fleeing from police.
Authorities said one of the getaway vehicles, a Black Kia allegedly driven by Dejuan Wingard, was traveling approximately 77 miles per hour down Michigan Avenue when it collided at Michigan and Ohio with a Honda CRV driven by Arceta, who was on his way to work.
Chicago police say they found a loaded gun and ammo in the getaway car.
A second vehicle used in the theft, an Infiniti, fled from the police down DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Police said the Infiniti jumped over a concrete barrier, before its tires blew out near Roosevelt Road. Offenders Hemphill and Perkins attempted to flee on foot, but both were apprehended, CPD said. Two additional occupants of the vehicle are still at large.
Prosecutors said Jackson is a 10-time felon who committed the crime, adding that his co-defendant Hemphill participated in the scheme despite being on probation.
Defense attorneys for the men say they all have strong ties to the community.
The three other suspects who were arrested did not appear in court Saturday and remain hospitalized. The next court date is set for Friday, September 19.
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