Trooper accused of DUI pleads to lesser charge

MOUNT VERNON -- An Illinois State Police trooper initially accused of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol while operating a state-issued vehicle has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Forty-seven-year-old Lyle Hicks pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court to failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident last Oct. 18, when his car was found in a ditch.

He now must serve a year of court supervision, and his driving privileges are suspended for six months.

Hicks held a full-time executive job with the Fraternal Order of Police with the state police before being relieved of duty after the charges were filed. A state police spokesman says a decision on Hicks' reinstatement is pending an internal investigation.