Illinois man gets probation for role in fatal wreck

ST. LOUIS (AP) - An Illinois man has received two years of probation for a misdemeanor charge linked to a wreck that killed a Missouri educator.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2kdbFwL ) reports 35-year-old Christopher Seals of Belleville, Illinois, also was ordered Friday in St. Louis to undergo electronic alcoholic monitoring and perform 100 hours of community service.

Seals had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the April 2016 wreck that killed 48-year-old Saint Louis University theology professor Donnie Patten. But a grand jury returned a lesser charge, citing the bad weather and brakes as factors in the crash.

Seals pleaded guilty to one count of excessive blood-alcohol content.

Authorities say Seals' vehicle hit Patten's sport utility vehicle from behind while Patten was stopped on Interstate 44 ramp after a minor collision with another car.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com