Schaumburg man convicted of misdemeanor in fatal crash
Cook County Judge Bridget Hughes on Tuesday acquitted a Schaumburg man of aggravated DUI involving the death of a Palatine teen who stepped in front of the man's car on a dark stretch of Barrington Road nearly three years ago.
However, the judge did find 29-year-old Timothy Hughes guilty of misdemeanor DUI in the April 28, 2012, crash that claimed the life of 2011 Palatine High School graduate William "Cole" Deacon. Hughes is not related to the judge.
The crash occurred about 1:30 a.m. in the southbound lane of Barrington Road near Terra Vita Drive, an area authorities say was not illuminated by streetlights. Timothy Hughes struck Deacon, 19, who was on foot and wearing dark clothing when, authorities say, he stepped from a wetland onto Barrington Road.
Deacon, a graphic design student at the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg, died from his injuries on May 7, 2012.
"I recognize how tragic this is," Bridget Hughes said to the teen's friends and family. "I know the loss you suffered can never be repaired."
Hughes referred to two eyewitness who testified "the victim came out of nowhere." She also referred to reconstruction experts who said the accident was unavoidable.
"No one could see a pedestrian by the side of the road," argued defense attorney Scott Anderson, whose client admitted to officers on the scene that he drank four beers and smoked marijuana several hours earlier. Prosecutors say Timothy Hughes tried to conceal evidence of his drug usage by tossing out of the car a bag of marijuana, which South Barrington police recovered.
Hughes' blood alcohol content registered .044, about half the legal limit of .08, but he showed no evidence of impairment and was not charged with any traffic violations, Anderson said.
"There was nothing (Timothy Hughes) could have done," said Anderson, who described his client as remorseful and devastated.
Authorities acknowledged that Deacon had marijuana in his system and a blood alcohol content of .206.
"The victim's condition wasn't relevant," insisted Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Karen Crothers. "The fact that he stepped onto the road does not relieve the defendant of his responsibility" not to drive with drugs in his system. Doing so made him guilty of a felony, she said.
"An accident of that nature can happen when you've consumed cannabis and beer and get behind the wheel of a car," she said.
Timothy Hughes next appears in court on March 23, when he could be sentenced to up to one year in jail.