Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
A man from Aurora, Illinois has been found guilty in a criminal court bench trial of reckless homicide and aggravated drunk driving for hitting and killing a pedestrian and his dog in Batavia in 2009, according to the Daily Herald . He was found not guilty of first degree murder. The sentence on the DUI charge is 3 to 14 years and sentencing is scheduled for July 23rd.
The defendant had reportedly drank and smoked marijuana prior to taking a car without permission. The car belonged to the girlfriend of a friend.
The victim was walking his dog before going to work at an auto parts store when he was hit. He was taken to St. Charles Hospital and died a short time later.
The Batavia police officer that did the accident reconstruction estimated at trial that the defendant was going 50-56 mph when he skidded onto a sidewalk and hit the pedestrian. The car then came back on the street and struck an SUV.
After the accident, the defendant fled on foot but was arrested by police a short time later.
Police obtained a blood sample from the defendant that showed his BAC was .106, which is above the Illinois legal limit.
Click here to read the story as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Breaking News.