Westmont woman killed daughter in earlier DUI, now sentenced for 3rd
Six years ago, an intoxicated Polly M. Myers ran her car into a LaSalle County ditch, killing her 11-month-old daughter.
Despite that incident, she chose to drink and drive again last winter, marking her third DUI arrest since 1995.
DuPage Circuit Judge Perry Thompson on Tuesday cited the 33-year-old Westmont woman's repeated mistakes and failed treatment history in rejecting her plea for probation. The judge sentenced her to 3.5 years in prison for a Nov. 13 DUI arrest in Clarendon Hills.
Myers must serve half that term before being eligible for parole. She faced a possible maximum sentence of six years behind bars.
"I can't imagine an event that would trigger more self-punishment than to cause the death of your child," the judge said, "and yet that did not deter you. There are times when the goal of rehabilitation has to take a back seat to the goal of protecting the public. You, quite frankly, are not safe to the rest of us."
A remorseful Myers, who also uses the last name Vasek, said she worked hard to stay sober after her daughter's death but relapsed at some point before her Nov. 13 arrest after finding photos and documents of the crash at her parents' house that she did not know existed.
"I realize I have yet to deal with this event," Myers told the judge. "This is by no means an excuse. I realize I need extensive treatment ... My sobriety will be the most important thing in my life. If I go back to drinking, I'll die or kill someone else. I can't do this anymore."
She has participated in several substance-abuse classes in the DuPage County jail since her arrest last year. Her attorney, Brett Cummins, a senior public defender, sought a sentence of probation or a short stint in jail so that Myers could begin an inpatient treatment program.
He said Myers struggles with a myriad of issues besides alcoholism, including anorexia, bulimia, depression, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Myers also asked for a second chance so she could be a better mother to her 5-year-old daughter.
But prosecutor Michael Pawl argued Myers has had enough chances. In her most recent arrest, police responded to a 911 call alerting them to a motorist driving erratically in Clarendon Hills. The caller provided the license plate number of an older-model station wagon that drove onto the grassy area of a soccer field, struck a sign, and continued through a park district parking lot where adults and children were gathering for a karate class.
Pawl said Myers was listed as the registered owner. Police went to her parents' house, where Myers lived, and learned she was picking up dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Within minutes, police received another complaint about a reckless driver, again in an older-model station wagon, who fled after sideswiping another motorist. Police took Myers into custody minutes later after locating her car.
Pawl said Myers had a blood-alcohol level of .287, more than three times the legal threshold of .08.
Myers received court supervision after pleading guilty to her first DUI Oct. 6, 1995, in DuPage County. Years later, on May 27, 2002, she was charged with aggravated reckless homicide in LaSalle County for the fatal crash that killed her 11-month-old daughter, Athena. Authorities said Myers was twice the legal limit in that crash.
She pleaded guilty to aggravated reckless homicide March 6, 2003, in LaSalle County and, five months later, was sentenced to four years' probation and 60 days in jail and was ordered to continue with alcohol counseling.
In meting out the prison term, Judge Thompson said he sympathizes with Myers but pointed out she has failed to remain sober despite up to 15 years of treatment.
"Over all these years, what I see are choices that you made to continue to drink and then to compound that by continuing to drive," the judge said. "I believe in forgiveness, but I also believe there are consequences for your choices. This is one of those times when you have to face those consequences."