Long Grove man pleads guilty in crash that killed Buffalo Grove woman
A Long Grove man who was accused of causing a fatal car accident in Hawthorn Woods has pleaded guilty to one count of reckless homicide in Lake County court, officials said.
Stephen E. Tomczyk, 24, of the 3200 block of Middlesax Drive, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for the crash that killed Jeewon Kim, 47, of Buffalo Grove, officials said.
Tomczyk received 731 days credit for time he already served in Lake County jail, said Cynthia Vargas of the Lake County state's attorney's office.
Lake County Judge Mark Levit approved the negotiated plea deal Nov. 5, Vargas said. Additional counts of aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, aggravated DUI resulting in great bodily harm, and reckless homicide were dropped in exchange for the plea deal.
Authorities said Tomczyk's 2007 Ford F-150 collided with Kim's 2011 blue Honda CRV at Westmoreland Drive and Route 83 in Hawthorn Woods about 6 p.m. Sept. 5, 2013.
Kim was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 16-year-old daughter - a passenger in the Honda - was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center with life-threatening injuries but survived.
Had Tomczyk been found guilty of the most serious count at trial, he could have been sentenced to six to 30 years in prison.
According to court records, Tomczyk previously pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 24 months of probation in May 2012. However, court records also show he violated the terms of that probation in April 2013 and was resentenced to an additional 120 days in jail and an additional year of probation.