7 years for Crystal Lake man who killed 4 friends in crash
A judge Monday sentenced a 29-year-old Crystal Lake man to seven years in prison after he admitted to causing a crash that killed four of his friends in September 2007.
Mohammed Jaffrie also will receive 13 months credit for time served on electronic home monitoring since he entered a guilty plea last October to four counts of reckless homicide. Under state law, he can have his sentenced halved for good behavior while behind bars.
“The evidence indicates the defendant was going at a rate of speed significantly higher than the posted speed of 40 mph,” said Judge David Akemann. “What is not in dispute is the defendant’s conduct — reckless conduct — caused the deaths of four people.”
Jaffrie faced up to 14 years in prison after admitting his role in the Sept. 8, 2007, crash in which his silver Infiniti crashed into a tree near Dietrich and Brier Hills roads near Huntley.
Killed were brothers Zohair Husain, 18, and Kumail Husain, 20, of Algonquin; and Ayush Joshi, 20, of Hoffman Estates. All three were students at Harper College. The fourth person to die was Henry Orwualu, 19, of Huntley.
During a two-day sentencing hearing last week, prosecutors argued that Jaffrie was driving recklessly on a stretch known by locals as “Rollercoaster Hill” and that the Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team estimated Jaffrie was going at least 67 mph in a 40 mph zone.
“Four young men lost their lives because of this defendant’s reckless actions,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Sims. “They were all bright boys that had bright futures ahead of them. They were snuffed out because of the actions of the defendant.”
Blood tests after the crash also showed marijuana derivatives in Jaffrie’s blood. But prosecutors dropped charges of aggravated driving under the influence against Jaffrie, who was 24 at the time of the crash,
Defense attorneys David Camic and Gary Johnson sought probation, disputed the county’s’ calculations and noted there were 27 crashes along that stretch of road between January 2000 and March 2008.
Kevin Vosbourgh, a mechanical engineer hired by the defense used a different way to estimate the speed of Jaffrie’s car, testified that Jaffrie was going between 51 and 60 mph.
Defense attorneys argued that Jaffrie wasn’t drunk or high during the crash and has devoted himself to volunteering, speaking at his mosque and supporting his parents in the four years since the crash while he has been on electronic home monitoring.
Jaffrie, who sustained internal injuries and a broken shoulder, apologized to the Husains and his family last Wednesday in court.
“I’m just really, really extremely sorry,” he said. “The road, it’s just hard to judge. I’m sorry I ever went to that road.”
Jaffrie’s family members and relatives declined to comment after the sentencing. Jaffrie’s attorneys will next appear in court on Dec. 14 to ask Akemann to reconsider the sentence.