Prison terms for two DUI crashes

The tagline of “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose” recently took on a new meaning for two Aurora men.

Not only did David Lopez-Castillo, 40, and Alejandro Lopez-Herrera, 32, lose their licenses after their drunken driving arrests — they lost their freedom as each man was sentenced to four years in prison by Associate Judge Marmarie Kostelny.

Lopez-Castillo, 40, of the 500 block of East New York Street, pleaded guilty in April to felony aggravated DUI with great bodily harm and one count of leaving the scene of an injury accident, also a felony.

At about 4 p.m. July 30, 2010, Lopez-Castillo was driving a 2002 GMC Sierra south on Route 31 in North Aurora when he struck a 2000 Mazda MPV minivan that was stopped in the left northbound lane waiting to turn onto Airport Road, authorities said.

Lopez-Castillo then ran from the scene before he was found and arrested a short time later.

The vehicle data recorder showed that Lopez-Castillo’s vehicle was traveling at 65 mph in a 35 mph zone just two seconds before the crash. His blood-alcohol concentration also was .151, nearly twice the state’s legal threshold of 0.08.

The victim sustained several broken bones.

Lopez-Castillo can have his sentence halved for good behavior.

Lopez-Herrera, of the 900 block of North Avenue, was drunk and caused a crash that injured three people.

Lopez-Herrera pleaded guilty in March to felony aggravated DUI with great bodily harm. He was driving west on Grove Street in Aurora at about 7 p.m. Aug. 15, 2010 approaching the intersection with Beach Street. The vehicle in front of him prepared to stop, so Lopez-Herrera swerved to the left to pass and struck the passenger side of the victim’s vehicle, which was northbound on Beach Street.

The victim’s vehicle also contained three passengers.

One passenger was thrown from the vehicle and hurt her hip after sliding on the pavement; another passenger cut her face and separated a shoulder; the final passenger suffered a head injury and continues to have difficulty breathing.

Lopez-Herrera confessed to police he’d used cocaine about an hour before the crash. At the time of the crash, Lopez-Herrera’s BAC was at least .186, according to court records.

Lopez-Herrera can have his sentence halved for good behavior.

Both cases were prosecuted by Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Whitfield.

hhitzeman@dailyherald.com