Nine year sentence expected for Wood Dale man in fatal crash

A Wood Dale man will be sentenced next month to nine years in prison for a fiery alcohol-related crash that killed two friends.

Erik C. Ecker is expected to begin serving the prison term after his June 24 court hearing. He must complete 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Ecker, 26, pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated driving under the influence. He faced a possible sentence of six to 28 years in prison without the plea agreement.

Early March 18, 2007, Ecker headed southbound on I-355 from westbound I-290 in Addison when his sport utility vehicle overturned, slammed into a sign and caught fire.

Ecker was able to pull his girlfriend out of the mangled wreckage, but he suffered severe burns attempting to rescue the two back-seat passengers. His best friend, Anthony Ishu, 23, of Wood Dale, and Cynthia Bortello, 21, of Elmhurst, were killed.

The couples were coming home from downtown Chicago, where they celebrated one of their birthdays and St. Patrick's Day. Witnesses reported Ecker was traveling 100 mph. He also had a blood-alcohol level of .147 - nearly twice the legal limit of .08.

His attorney John "Jack" Donahue said Ecker, an architectural student, completed extensive alcohol counseling and treatment while free on a $700,000 bond. Ecker has a prior 2004 DUI arrest in which he later pleaded guilty to an amended charge of reckless driving.

"It's probably one of the saddest cases I've seen in a long time," said Donahue, a veteran attorney. "It's just a horrible tragedy."