3 years prison for East Dundee DUI hit-and-run that injured cyclist
A Schaumburg woman was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to driving drunk and injuring a cyclist in East Dundee last year, according to court records and her attorney.
Erika M. Morset, 34, of the 1500 block of Revere Circle, Schaumburg, also left the scene of the crash, which caused severe head and neck injuries to the 32-year-old victim, a resident of West Dundee.
Morset also must serve four years of probation and pay nearly $11,000 in restitution, along with nearly $2,000 in court fines and fees, records show, after pleading guilty Thursday to leaving the scene of a crash and aggravated driving under the influence causing bodily harm.
Kane County Judge Susan Clancy Boles accepted the plea in which prosecutors dismissed other, less serious charges.
Defense attorney Irving Seidler said his client wanted to accept responsibility and move forward.
"She was very remorseful," Seidler said. "She didn't want to put the victim through any more court appearances. She wanted to move on with her life."
According to police, Morset was driving a 1999 Honda at about 5:20 a.m. May 17 when she rear-ended a cyclist at South Street just north of Maiden Lane and drove off.
The cyclist was taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin before being airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Morset was found 45 minutes later, drunk and parked outside the Meadowdale Shopping Mall in Carpentersville, police said.
"She had a high BAC (blood alcohol concentration)," Seidler said. "She didn't have any recall of the incident."
Seidler said it was his client's first DUI offense.
Morset also must attend a DUI victim impact panel after she is released from prison.
Under state law, she must serve 85 percent of her sentence, or about 2.5 years.
Morset also gets credit for about 13 months served at the Kane County jail while the case was pending. She must wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet for 90 days after her prison release.
If she violates probation, she could be resentenced to up to seven years in prison.