Aurora man gets 9 years in prison for fatal DUI

An Aurora man has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for killing a woman in a drunken driving crash in 2023.

Joshua Crye, 34, of the 1800 block of Westfield Drive, was sentenced Monday by DuPage County Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh. He had pleaded guilty in August to aggravated DUI causing death.

Prosecutors had asked for 14 years, the maximum allowed.

The crash happened around 8:52 p.m. April 6, 2023, on Eola Road in Aurora. Authorities said Crye was driving 85 mph southbound, in a Ford Escape, when he crossed over the center median. He hit a northbound vehicle driven by Nicole Dickerson, and the vehicles crashed into another northbound vehicle.

Nickerson died four days later.

Authorities said Crye had a blood alcohol content of .183 at the time of the crash, which is more than twice the legal limit.

Crye must serve at least 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole. He received credit for the time he has been held in jail since his arrest in June 2023.

“DUI crashes are not accidents,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release. “These crashes, which are 100% avoidable, are the result of a bad decision made by an intoxicated individual, in this case, Joshua Crye. That bad decision however, not only cost Nicole Dickerson her life and her family their loving wife and mother, but also impacted an entire community.”