It is a common scenario. You are at a friend’s house for dinner, and you decide to have a beer. Then you think, what the heck, and have one more beer. Perhaps you stop to evaluate yourself before getting into your car. You do not feel drunk at all — after all, you only had two beers. You slowly back your car out of the driveway and you begin to think that this is a bad decision, but you are willing to take the risk. You hear and feel a “thud” and realize that you have backed into a plastic hockey goal. If you had hit a child running out into the street and not the hockey goal, the rest of your life would be changed forever.
If a child dies in an accident you caused, you will face severe criminal charges in Illinois. You will also face the burden of knowing that one bad decision caused the death of another person. The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that in 2017, 32% of all driving fatalities in Illinois were caused by alcohol-impaired driving. Fatalities in 2017 resulting from alcohol-impaired driving increased by 4.2% from 2016. It is essential that drivers in Illinois NEVER get behind the wheel when under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but nevertheless, certain situations occur and accidents happen. If you are facing DUI charges in Illinois, you need the help of an experienced DUI attorney right away.
Felony DUI Comes With Serious Consequences in Illinois
The Illinois criminal penal code treats those convicted of deadly DUI accidents harshly. It is a felony in the state of Illinois. Typically, if someone appears to have accidentally caused the death of another, the state will charge him or her with involuntary manslaughter. When someone allegedly causes the death of another person with a motor vehicle by accident, it is an Aggravated DUI.
A death resulting from a DUI could come with a class 2 felony charge. In Illinois, this charge could earn you between 3 and 28 years in prison. You could also face up to 100 hours of community service, the loss of your driving license for two years at a minimum, and up to $25,000 in Court fines. If you hit and injured someone when you were under the influence, the injured party may also bring a civil lawsuit against you in addition to the criminal charges against you.
A DUI can become an aggravated DUI for the following reasons:
- Driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license when the license is revoked due to a prior DUI, driving under a summary suspension, reckless homicide or leaving the scene of a car accident that caused death or personal injury.
- Knowingly driving without valid car insurance.
- Someone who has committed their third or subsequent DUI.
- Driving without a driver’s license at the time of the DUI.
- DUI related accidents that cause great bodily harm result in physical injury or death.
- DUI in a school zone.
Let Us Help You With Your Drunk Driving Charge
Do not let one night out turn into a legal nightmare. If you have been charged with aggravated DUI in Illinois, you are facing severe consequences. You need an experienced Cook County aggravated DUI criminal defense attorney. For more information, please contact Glasgow & Olsson. You can schedule a consultation with one of our DUI defense attorneys by completing a consultation request form.
(image courtesy of Chris Liverani)