Trial on Barrington Hills crash begins with tears
Nine months after the deaths of Edward and Brenda Aiello of Wood Dale, their families were forced to relive their grief Tuesday as the trial began for the Gilberts man accused of driving drunk into their motorcycle.
Harold G. Ulmer Jr., 63, was charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide by Barrington Hills police July 15, a few hours after the fatal collision at routes 62 and 59.
Defense attorneys aren't disputing the prosecution's contention that Ulmer drank vodka earlier that day, failed sobriety tests at the police station hours after the collision and ultimately had his blood alcohol content measured at 0.104 percent, well over the 0.08 that is the state limit.
What Ulmer's attorneys do contest is that he was driving under the influence of alcohol when the crash occurred.
They point to the earlier reports and testimony of Barrington Hills police officers and other witnesses at the scene who said they saw no signs of Ulmer's being impaired and didn't smell any alcohol from him.
Barrington Hills Police Chief Michael Murphy was ultimately the one who found receipts for vodka in Ulmer's truck and smelled alcohol on him at the station, according to his testimony. Murphy asked Ulmer to attempt sobriety tests there, which he reportedly failed at 11:27 a.m.
Defense attorney Ernie Blomquist said he intends to call a medical expert to talk about the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, with the aim of arguing that Ulmer was not yet under the influence of the alcohol he'd drunk when the crash occurred at 9 a.m.
Family members of 51-year-old Edward Aiello and his 48-year-old wife, Brenda, sobbed and hugged each other in court as police, paramedics and a passing critical care nurse from Good Shepherd Hospital described the tragic scene and broken bodies they came upon.
According to witnesses, Ulmer's pickup truck was heading east on Route 62 when it drove around the vehicles waiting on a red arrow in the left-turn lanes at Route 59 before turning and hitting the Aiellos' motorcycle proceeding on a green light through the intersection, police said.
Among roughly a dozen relatives in court was Brenda Aiello's son from a prior marriage, 27-year-old Jeffrey Zurawicz.
Outside the courtroom, he described the hysterical phone call he received from his grandmother the day of the crash, and how the event had devastated both families.
Zurawicz said he was especially concerned about his half brother, 17-year-old Paul Skoglund, who was living with the Aiellos at the time.
"He was probably affected most by all of this," Zurawicz said.
The relatives' main concern Tuesday was in seeing some resolution to the tragic incident, he said.
"I'm not a spiteful person by any means, but I would like to see justice served," he said. "Any verdict is not going to bring them back."
The trial is expected to continue a few more days.