Maywood woman gets 1 year for crashing into parked police squad

A Maywood woman is heading to prison for driving drunk when she crashed her car into a parked state police vehicle and injured a trooper.

Natasha Mister, 31, pleaded guilty Dec. 29 to aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm. DuPage Judge Brian Telander handed down the one-year sentence Monday.

Trooper Jeff Klecka was seated in his fully marked squad car around 12:44 a.m. Aug. 28 on the right shoulder of southbound I-355, just north of Army Trail Road in DuPage County, when Mister struck his car.

Klecka was waiting for a tow truck to arrive as the result of a previous traffic stop. All rear emergency lights and the arrow stick on Klecka's vehicle were activated at the time of the crash.

An investigation into the crash revealed Mister had a blood alcohol content of 0.26. She has been held in DuPage County Jail on $200,000 bail since her arrest.

"First and foremost, I would like to say how grateful we are that Trooper Klecka's injuries were not life threatening and that he is back on the job today," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said after the sentencing. "This was a senseless, 100 percent avoidable crash that thankfully did not involve the loss of life. With taxis and ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be behind the wheel of a car after they have been drinking."

Mister will be required to serve 85 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole. In addition to the prison sentence, Mister will be required to pay $2,208 in court costs.