Driver sent to prison for crash that killed Downers Grove mom

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a 48-year-old mother of two from Downers Grove.

Robert Gorss, 49, of North Nagle Avenue, pleaded guilty on May 1 to aggravated driving under the influence causing death and was sentenced Friday by DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan. Gorss has been held in the DuPage County jail since Nov. 23, 2016.

Authorities said Gorss was driving a box truck at 1:08 p.m. Sept. 7, 2016, on North Avenue near Main Street in Lombard when he struck a car driven by Dawn Nickeas. Nickeas was seriously injured in the crash and died from her injuries on Nov. 3, 2016.

An investigation revealed the presence of several controlled substances in Gorss' urine at the time of the crash.

"Mr. Gorss' incredibly reckless behavior on the afternoon of Sept. 7, 2016, cost Dawn Nickeas her life," DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "While there is nothing that can be done to bring Dawn back to her family and friends, perhaps today's sentencing of the man responsible for her death will help them gain some measure of closure in this horrible chapter in their lives. And perhaps Mr. Gorss' 11-year sentence will help him realize the magnitude of what he has done and the permanency of the pain and suffering he brought to those who loved Dawn, particularly her husband and two children."

Gorss will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.