Waukegan man sentenced to 3 years of periodic imprisonment for fatal crash
A 39-year-old Waukegan man who faced the prospect of prison time after pleading guilty to driving while drunk and causing a fatal 2019 crash in Beach Park was sentenced to three years of periodic imprisonment by a Lake County judge Wednesday afternoon.
Officials alleged Juan Aguiar was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine the night his car slammed into the Benton Township assessor's office, killing 23-year-old Oscar Ambriz, who was in the back seat of the car. Aguiar and another passenger were injured.
On April 13, Aguiar agreed to plead guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol in exchange for the dismissal of the four lesser charges, Lake County state's attorney's office spokesman Steve Spagnolo said.
Lake County Judge James Booras sentenced Aguiar to four years of probation Wednesday. For the first three years of parole, Aguiar will be primarily behind bars at Lake County jail but will be allowed to leave regularly to work. In addition, Aguiar will have to complete 200 hours of community service.
Spagnolo said prosecutors hoped Booras would sentence Aguiar to prison time, but the office respects the judge's sentence.