Judge: Evidence 'simply doesn't support' DUI charges in Naperville woman's death
Calling it "one of the weakest DUI cases" he's seen, a DuPage County judge on Friday dismissed aggravated driving under the influence charges against a Lisle man who struck and killed a Naperville woman in 2011.
Judge George Bakalis ruled prosecutors failed to prove James Kisla was intoxicated when his minivan struck 69-year-old Donna Early as she walked in front of the van on a dark portion of Yackley Avenue near Ohio Street after the Eyes to the Skies fireworks show.
"The strength of the DUI case evidence simply doesn't support the charge," Bakalis ruled before the defense even made its case. "Frankly, it's one of the weakest DUI cases I've ever seen."
Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Lindt, however, argued that after the accident, Kisla was "stumbling, almost a sailor's gait" at the Lisle police station and that the booking officer noted Kisla's eyes were red.
Despite the fact Early wasn't crossing at a crosswalk around 10 p.m. on the dark portion of the road, Lindt argued Kisla knew the fireworks show had just ended and he should have been more cautious.
"He should have been on high alert," Lindt said. "But the defendant goes out there, filled with beer and runs down Mrs. Early."
Kisla's attorney, Don Ramsell, however, successfully argued the case was simply an accident.
"The evidence in this case only establishes that a tragedy occurred, resulting in the loss of a respectable person in Mrs. Early," Ramsell said. "The evidence shows this was an accident, not a crime."
Outside court, Ramsell criticized the Illinois State Police Crime Lab for failing to properly test Kisla's blood alcohol content level.
"Had they done their job, in the first place, this man would not have had to spend $50,000 defending himself and put his life on hold for four years," Ramsell said. "And that's the shame of it all."
Ramsell also said he would be calling for an investigation into the state lab.
"I plan on calling for a complete investigation of the Illinois State Police Crime Lab based on what happened in this case and I demand that there be an external audit by an external agency of the goings on of that laboratory," Ramsell said. "For three years I have litigated and challenged the blood test in this case, which the state police initially claimed was 0.086. The problem was that scientific standards required them to reveal any margins of error in the process of the measurement, which they did not do."
The Illinois State Police media relations division did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.