8 years prison in Aurora DUI that injured 4
A 41-year-old Aurora man was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday for causing a 2014 DUI crash in Aurora that injured a woman and her three children.
In an unusual but not unprecedented move, Kane County Judge James Hallock sentenced Roy R. Lightfoot, of the 500 block of Hammond Drive, to a longer prison term than the six years sought by prosecutors.
Hallock noted that Lightfoot went through rehab, but admitted to drinking on New Year's Eve - just a week before he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated DUI.
Hallock said Lightfoot had a "dangerous attitude" where he minimized his role in causing the crash. The judge said he was skeptical Lightfoot would adhere to the probation requested by Kane County Assistant Public Defender Jacqueline Leder, who argued her client is extremely remorseful.
Hallock said he doubted Lightfoot would behave.
"The defendant's history shows he's going to thumb his nose at society," he said. "In this case we could compare (Lightfoot's car) to a rocket or a torpedo. It is a weapon, especially when you're driving at three times the legal limit."
According to authorities, Lightfoot was under the influence of alcohol on March 10, 2014, when he caused two crashes while driving his 1990 Cadillac Fleetwood through town.
In the first crash, Lightfoot was traveling east on Illinois Avenue when he rear-ended a Chevy S-10 that was stopped at a traffic signal on Route 31, Aurora police said.
Then, Lightfoot drove through a red light and onto the Illinois Avenue bridge, police said. Lightfoot's vehicle jumped a concrete median and crashed head-on into a 2009 Chevy Aveo, injuring himself and the four people in the other car.
One child's head injuries required 27 staples to close a cut, prosecutors said.
Because of the injuries to the Montgomery mom and her kids, Lightfoot was eligible for an extended prison term of up to 12 years in prison at 85 percent of his sentence instead of the customary 50 percent.
He gets credit for about 15 months served at the Kane County jail, meaning he has about 46 months left on his prison sentence.
The sentence imposed by Hallock also requires Lightfoot to pay about $54,000 in restitution.