Family wants Hampshire crash probe reopened

A Hampshire family wants authorities to reopen an investigation into a July crash that killed a 34-year-old father, their attorney said Friday.

Tim Haase died July 10 after he was partially ejected from his 1991 Chevrolet Suburban in a rollover crash on the 11N000 block of Peplow Road in Hampshire.

Police said Haase crashed after he came upon a vehicle parked in his lane of traffic while its driver checked her mailbox. He was driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.127 at the time, police said.

Haase family attorney James P. Crawley accused the Kane County sheriff's and state's attorney's offices Friday of ignoring conflicting evidence that he says places blame on the parked vehicle's driver.

"The people responsible for Tim's death covered up the truth, and the Kane County Sheriff's Department has not done it's job by ignoring these obvious inconsistencies and failing to complete a full and unbiased investigation," Crawley said.

Jean L. Prestidge, 57, of Hampshire, was ticketed for improper parking on a roadway after the fatal crash. But prosecutors announced later that no criminal charges were to be filed because Haase was driving under the influence of alcohol and in excess of 75 mph. Crawley contends the blood sample used to determine Haase's level of impairment was inaccurate and done with unreliable tests. He also says investigators refused to pursue conflicting witness statements and other evidence that indicates Prestidge's vehicle was moved before police arrived, among other assertions.

Attorney Mike Coghlan, who represents Prestidge, denied Crawley's claims, saying the evidence clearly showed otherwise.

"The guy was driving 100 mph and he was drunk," he said. "I don't see any credible evidence to contradict those things."

The Kane County state's attorney's office declined to comment on Crawley's allegations Friday. Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said the investigation is closed.

"(Prestidge) has been charged for what happened out there," he said. "I don't know what more they want. Nobody's trying to be insensitive to a grieving family."

Haase, who was engaged, had one child and another on the way when he was killed. Crawley said he was on his way to meet his fiance at the Sycamore Speedway.

"I think she (the fiancee) feels like the sheriff's office has really done her wrong," he said. "She's pretty angry. She wants to see someone punished."

Prestidge, who is due in court Jan. 8, has pleaded not guilty.