Former DeKalb State’s Attorney Jordan Gallagher was charged Tuesday for a hit-and-run automobile accident which occurred in Sycamore March 12.

Gallagher, 39, of Sycamore, was charged with improper backing and failure to give information after striking an unattended vehicle, said an employee at the Sycamore Police Department.

Witnesses said they saw Gallagher back into a car at 1:55 a.m. on the 200 block of California Street, the employee said. The car, which belonged to Laura Kubasiak, 22, of Genoa, received $300 worth of damage, the police employee said.

Gallagher could not be reached for comment Thursday after repeated attempts to contact him. Kubasiak said she had no comment on the incident when she was reached by telephone. Gallagher’s law partner Kurt Klein had no comment on the incident.

On Aug. 3, 1977, then State’s Attorney Gallagher indicted former NIU president Richard Nelson for leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a licence. Nelson was found guilty of the car-bicycle accident in which NIU student Mary Michalowski was injured.

Gallagher was the prosecuting attorney when Nelson was convicted on Jan. 25, 1978. Nelson was sentenced to one year’s probation and $1,500 in fines.

Gallagher and his law partner Kurt Klein are the legal representatives for the Northern Star in the suit against former NIU president Clyde Wingfield and the Board of Regents.

Failure to give information after striking an unattended vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable up to one year in jail and a fine of $1,000, said Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Roddick. Improper backing is a moving violation punishable by a fine, Roddick said.