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Antioch restaurateur involved in fatal crash sentenced to jail time

An Antioch restaurateur will spend the next 12 months in periodic imprisonment for drinking alcohol in violation of a 2011 probation sentence he received after driving into and killing pedestrian in 2011.

David Maish, 43, the award-winning chef and owner of David's Bistro, was ordered by Judge George Bridges to turn himself in at the Lake County jail Wednesday to begin serving his jail sentence.

Bridges granted the Spring Grove man a day to collect his prescribed medications.

Maish will be allowed to leave the jail only for work and treatment for a his addiction to drugs and alcohol, Bridges said. He also sentenced Maish to 24 months of probation, 150 hours of community service, and ordered him to stay away from drugs or alcohol unless prescribed by a physician.

Maish was prohibited from drinking alcohol as part of a reckless homicide plea deal for the crash that killed Santiago "Jimmy" Balderas of Round Lake. He was driving his 2006 Hummer on Route 59 when it struck Balderas, 40, just after 9 p.m. on Feb 6.

Balderas was walking in the middle of Route 59, authorities said, but investigators determined Maish had a blood alcohol content of .142 percent and was composing or reading a text message on his cellphone at the time of the crash. He was arrested and indicted about two months later.

The negotiated plea put Maish on probation for 30 months, which included 18 months periodic imprisonment. In December 2013 - three months before the end of his probation - Maish admitted to his probation officer during a random check at his restaurant that he had consumed alcohol, Assistant State's Attorney Suzanne Willett said.

A Breathalyzer determined Maish had a blood alcohol content of .122 percent, Willett said.

On Tuesday, Willett asked Bridges to sentence Maish to five years in prison, claiming he admitted to doctors he had been binge drinking for some time before he was caught drinking.

However, defense attorney Doug Zeit said Maish admitted to consuming alcohol the one time, and that it took place after he had an emotional breakdown due to a family illness and problems with his struggling restaurant.

Maish begged for mercy from Bridges, saying he thought of killing himself because of the fatal crash.

"I feel terrible for Mr. Balderas ... I can't explain to anybody the remorse I feel," he said. "I don't mean any harm ... I'm just trying to stay alive."

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