Oak Park Drunk Driver Sentenced to 5 Years

October 14, 2010 - A drunk driver who hit and killed a woman in a 2008 hit-and-run accident was sentenced on Wednesday to 5 years in prison. According to a report at the Chicago Breaking News Center, this is the second hit-and-run for the driver, who is a 42-year-old man from Oak Park.

In late May 2008, the Oak Park man was driving a van near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Marengo Avenue when he hit a woman who had passed out in an alley after drinking at the Hideaway Bar on Roosevelt Avenue. Friends of the victim were walking over to help her when the van drove into the alley and hit her.

The driver then fled the scene, but he was arrested later that day. Police say his blood-alcohol level was .089, and he was charged with aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The victim was a 50-year-old woman from Forest Park.

In court, the driver's mother testified on his behalf, saying that he is a remorseful about the victim's death. The judge handed down a sentence of 5 years, much less than the maximum sentence of 17 years.