Naperville driver accused of going 142 mph pleads guilty
Editor’s note: Story updated on Feb. 27 to correct misinformation about terms of the suspect’s sentencing.
A man accused of driving 142 mph when he crashed a year ago on Ogden Avenue in Naperville pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless driving and DUI charges.
Dean Suominen, 37, of Shorewood entered the plea before DuPage County Judge James Konetski, who sentenced him to two years of court supervision and 100 hours of community service. Suominen also must get counseling, attend a DUI victim-impact panel, and pay about $1,300 in restitution for damaging city property, plus fines and court costs.
Suominen had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.2 percent — more than twice the legal threshold of 0.08 — when his 2008 Dodge Charger hit a curb on eastbound Ogden and went airborne, flipping and crashing into a steel support beam near Rickert Drive, according to prosecutors.
Crash investigators used a data recorder from the car to establish Suominen was driving more than 140 mph, Naperville City Prosecutor Mike DiSanto said in court. The accident happened shortly before 1 a.m. Jan. 10, 2012.
“He completely annihilated his vehicle” but wasn’t seriously hurt, DiSanto said.
Suominen declined to comment outside court. He had no prior criminal history, defense attorney John Carbon said.
“He voluntarily entered the plea because he was embarrassed and apologetic about his immaturity,” Carbon said.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed charges of driving too fast for conditions, improper lane use and speeding.
Carbon didn’t dispute his client was driving fast but said authorities would have had a “lot of difficulty” proving a 142 mph speed based on information from the car’s data recorder, which is similar to “black box” devices found in commercial airliners.
Suominen is already in counseling, according to his attorney.