Terminally ill man sentenced to 9 years for fatal DUI crash in DuPage
Two years ago, Robert J. Pas sped down a DuPage County highway at more than 100 mph with about four times the legal limit of alcohol in his system, sparking a fatal crash that forever ripped apart two families, including his own.
The 43-year-old Burbank man who has advanced liver disease asked Friday that justice be tempered with mercy, so that he may die at home with family, rather than alone in a prison cell.
He faced probation or up to 12 years behind bars.
Sorting through the wreckage, DuPage Circuit Judge George Bakalis sentenced Pas to 9 years in prison. Pas must serve 85 percent before being paroled. He will receive credit for the two years he spent in jail awaiting the outcome of his case.
"He is an alcoholic, and he has been for numerous years," Bakalis said. "To a great extent, frankly, (his liver disease) was brought upon by his own conduct. It is a tragedy in all respects."
Pas pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to aggravated drunken driving. At about 11:30 a.m. June 17, 2008, his speeding 2008 Chevrolet Malibu was on I-55 near Route 83 in Burr Ridge when it struck the rear of a van, propelling it off the highway.
Witnesses reported the Malibu had been swerving across three lanes of traffic before the crash. A van passenger, Dawn Voss-Alshwayiat, 38, of Darien, was killed after being ejected. She was not wearing a seat belt. Her husband, Hatem Alshwayiat, survived critical injuries.
"I lost a wonderful daughter," Maureen Voss said Friday through tears. "I am so angry, frustrated and hurt. My Dawn's life is over when it should be blossoming. Parents aren't supposed to bury their children."
The victim's brother, Ryan Voss, who passed the crash scene on his way to the hospital, said: "My sister was full of life, love and hope and I can assure you she did not want to die on the side of the road the morning her path crossed with the defendant. The reality is Dawn will never be returned to us regardless of what his sentence is. But at least we will know that justice was served."
Prosecutor Robert Berlin said the motorist's blood-alcohol level at the hospital was .331, more than four times the legal limit of .08. His speed was 110 mph three seconds before impact. An open bottle of vodka was found in the Malibu's wreckage.
"The defendant turned a motor vehicle into a weapon of mass destruction," said Berlin, chief of criminal prosecutions.
Pas is a repeat offender. Police twice arrested him for DUI, in 1993 and 2000, though the latter charge was reduced to reckless driving.
He read a tearful statement in which he asked for forgiveness.
"Please understand if there was something I could do, I would take the place of Mrs. Alshwayiat to make her family whole again," he said. "I know some may say talk is cheap, but I truly mean what I say, from the bottom of my heart."
Pas also apologized to his own family, including his ailing mother. His relatives did not testify Friday, but several of them wrote letters to the judge explaining that Pas is intelligent and compassionate and that, but for his addiction, he is a good man who made a terrible mistake.
His lawyer, Barry Pechter, noted Pas completed several self-help and addiction programs in jail and pleaded guilty to spare everyone an emotional trial. If Pas does not receive a liver transplant, Pechter said, doctors estimate he will live less than three years.
"Alcohol killed the victim," Pechter said, "and it's going to kill Robert, too."
Added Lorraine Wesolowski, of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists: "We can't forget victims like Dawn Voss. Pas was an out-of-control drunken driver on the street and he took the life of an innocent victim. His illness is self-inflicted. He definitely needed treatment for alcohol abuse and he never got it. We must continue to punish repeat offenders to the fullest extent of the law."