9-year sentence for driver in fatal DUI crash
A Barrington-area woman whose drunken driving took the life of a motorist and seriously injured a second was sentenced to nine years in prison Wednesday.
Dana Cameron, 34, received just one year less than the maximum she could have received under her plea negotiation.
Cameron, whose exact address is unclear, was driving erratically and speeding on Route 12 near Molidor Road last Nov. 8.
She spun her 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier around in the northbound lanes, and sideswiped a car driven by Maurice Torres, 49.
Torres' car was pushed across a median strip into the southbound lanes where it was struck in the passenger side by a car driven by Angela Latimer of Ingleside.
Torres died at the scene of massive internal injuries. Latimer suffered a broken arm, several broken ribs and whiplash injuries.
Cameron drove away, but was followed by another driver who used his cell phone to direct Lake County sheriff's deputies to her.
A deputy and a dispatcher testified Wednesday that Cameron was abusive toward them and tried to run away while she was being handcuffed.
Lake County Assistant State's Attorney James Newman said Cameron had consumed four beers, two shots of vodka and Vicodin in the hours preceding the crash.
Her blood alcohol content was .176 percent, almost twice the legal threshold of .08 percent, three hours after the crash.
In a statement to the court, Torres' brother, Louis Torres, said the family has been devastated by the crash.
"He was a loving, caring man with a heart as big as the world," Louis Torres said. "He cared about everyone he met."
Cameron's brother, Gerald Cameron, testified there has been devastation in his family as well.
He said his sister was "a happy little kid" in the house they grew up in, but suffered when she came in contact with outsiders.
Adopted after being born in Mexico, Dana Cameron was taunted by schoolmates, struggled with her studies and suffered mental health and substance abuse problems throughout her adult life, Gerald Cameron said.
She had checked herself out of Elgin Mental Health Center the day of the crash, Gerald Cameron said.
Dana Cameron acknowledged she had lived a difficult life, but offered no excuses in her own statement to the court.
"I am responsible for the suffering I see in the eyes of his (Torres') loved ones," she said. "The choices I made brought us here today."
Newman asked for the full 10-year sentence to be imposed while Lake County Assistant Public Defender Sharmila Manak asked for Cameron to be sentenced to probation, Lake County jail time and mental health treatment.
Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti said she could not find any extraordinary circumstances that would allow her to give Cameron probation.
She sentenced Cameron to eight years for aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide, and added another year for leaving the scene of an accident.