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Ex-Illinois trooper charged in crash that killed young mom

Posted November 21, 2018 6:00 am

The Associated Press

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - A former Illinois State Police trooper has been charged in a high-speed collision that killed a young mother.

Now-retired Master Sgt. Jeff Denning was charged Tuesday with one count of reckless homicide alleging that his excessive speed caused Kelly E. Wilson's May 2016 death in central Illinois.

Police reports say Denning's unmarked squad car was traveling at 108 mph in a 35-mph zone just before the crash, and at an estimated 85 mph when it struck Wilson's van in Decatur, fatally injuring the 26-year-old.

Authorities say Denning was driving toward Interstate 72 without his siren activated in response to the shooting of an officer more than 40 miles away in Mahomet. That officer suffered a bullet wound to his arm.

Online court records don't list an attorney for Denning.

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