Fatal DUI victim's sister forgives driver
Before being sentenced to three years in prison for causing the drunken driving crash that killed his girlfriend, a 29-year-old Buffalo Grove man on Monday was given what a DuPage County judge called an “amazing gift”: forgiveness from the victim's sister.
Fabian Higgins was legally drunk on Nov. 15, 2010, and behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang that crashed and killed his passenger, 23-year-old Christina Schamne of Hanover Park. The crash happened shortly after midnight in Hanover Park while Higgins was trying to drive Schamne home.
At Higgins' sentencing hearing, Stephanie Schamne said the death of her younger sister has forever changed her life.
“You chose to get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol,” Stephanie Schamne said in court as Higgins watched her read a prepared statement. “You chose to put your life in danger. You chose to put the life of Christina, as well as others, in danger. Unfortunately, the cost of your bad decision was the life of Christina.”
She then told Higgins that she has forgiven him.
“The forgiveness that I have given you has enabled me to focus on the healing of my broken spirit,” Stephanie Schamne said. “It has also helped me to put other things into perspective.”
DuPage Judge Blanche Hill Fawell called Stephanie Schamne's gesture a “most amazing gift” to Higgins, who pleaded guilty in January to aggravated DUI causing death.
While Higgins has no felony or DUI history and appears remorseful, Fawell said the defendant wasn't eligible for probation under state law. The judge sentenced Higgins to three years in prison.
Higgins, who has been in jail since a day after the crash, will get credit for that time served. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence.
During his time in jail, Higgins has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, 12-step meetings and Bible study classes. “I want to change my life,” he said in court.
Higgins told the judge that he thinks about Christina every day and realizes he caused the crash. He recounted driving south on County Farm Road when his car crossed the centerline south of Ontarioville Road, striking an oncoming Ford Explorer.
Schamne, who was sleeping in the passenger's seat when the crash happened, died of multiple injuries a short time later at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates.
“My irresponsibility hurt a lot of people,” he said, adding that he loved Christina. “I wish on that night I never had a drink and got behind the wheel to drive her home. I am sincerely sorry for the pain that I have put everyone through.”
Sentence: Man has been attending AA and Bible study sessions