5th DUI lands Gilberts man in prison
A 57-year-old Gilberts man who told police he couldn’t remember being in a hit-and-run car crash pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.
All other criminal and traffic charges against Terrance P. Gallagher were dismissed.
Gallagher agreed to a sentence of three years in prison. He was given credit for 23 days he spent in the Kane County jail, and will be eligible for day-for-day “good time” reduction.
The charge was reduced from a Class 1 felony, which would have required a sentence of four to 15 years, to a Class 2, punishable by up to seven years. He was not eligible for probation because of convictions in 1988, 1990, 1991 and 1996 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Gallagher hit another vehicle July 21, 2012, at Randall and Big Timber roads in Elgin, then drove off. Witnesses supplied his license plate number to Elgin police. They found him at his home, where he told them he didn’t recall the crash.
The driver of the other vehicle was taken to a hospital, treated and released, according to court records.
Gallagher’s blood-alcohol level was .276, more than three times the legal standard for intoxication, according to court records.
He had faced charges of leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident, aggravated driving while his license was revoked for at least the sixth time, and driving without insurance.
According to court documents, Gallagher was arrested at least five times for driving while license revoked: in DuPage County in October 1980; in Cook County in June 1996 and August 1999; and in Lake County in October 1996 and May 2003.