ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Mich. — Friday at the St. Joseph County Courthouse, things felt a lot different for those who work there. Following the death of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Melissa Hallack, officials say things will never be the same.
"Melissa was my friend," said Prosecuting Attorney, David Marvin. He told FOX 17 he was her friend for 12 years, she was amazing.
"She was an extremely, extremely dedicated, zealous defender of her client's rights," said Chief Public Defender, Keith Stickley.
Marvin said Hallack had a private practice for 15 years before Marvin convinced her to work with him in March. "What I liked about her was her attitude and her heart. And the way she cared about the people that she represented." He told FOX 17 there will never be another like her.
According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office, she was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Silver Street, North of Pinhook Road in Mendon Township. A 24-year-old Reading, Michigan, man was northbound on Silver Street when he hit Hallack's vehicle.
"She was a friend. She was a mom. She was an incredible human being. [She's] just gonna be greatly missed in this community," Stickley said.
While Hallack took her role seriously and put her client's needs above her own, her friends and colleagues agreed she could always make you laugh.
"She wasn't very tall or very large, but she had a laugh, a smile, and a heart that would that would fill the biggest room," Stickley said.
Alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor and the at-fault driver’s name is being withheld, pending results of an ongoing investigation, the sheriff's office said in a release.
Marvin told FOX 17 he has been keeping in touch with the family and will keep the community updated on whether or not there will be any public memorials.
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