Antioch Township woman sentenced to 10 years in DUI crash
An Antioch Township woman will spend 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in a DUI crash that killed an Antioch motorcyclist in 2015.
As part of a negotiated agreement, Leena Ultsch, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol above .08 and identity theft. Because Ultsch picked up the identity theft charge while out on bail, she is required to serve that two-year sentence after she completes the eight-year prison sentence for the DUI.
Ultsch, of the 26400 block of West Grapevine Avenue, is required to serve 85 percent of the prison sentence for DUI and 50 percent of the identity theft sentence before being eligible for parole, Lake County Judge Patricia Fix said Tuesday.
During a statement in court, Ultsch apologized to the family of Greg Boyes, who died in the crash.
"No one deserves to live with the heartache of losing a child," she said. "I am so sorry for the loss of your son."
Counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated DUI resulting in death and failure to report an accident resulting in death were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea, authorities said. Had the case gone to trial and she was found guilty of the most serious charges, Ultsch could have been sentenced to up to 14 years in prison, Fix said.
Lake County sheriff's deputies initially said Boyes, 50, had lost control of his 2007 Suzuki motorcycle while driving west on Route 173 near North Linden Lane in Antioch at 4 a.m. Aug. 26, 2015.
Hours later, investigators determined another vehicle was involved in the crash but had left the scene before police arrived.
While that information was being investigated, Ultsch called the sheriff's office and admitted she had collided with Boyes, authorities said. Ultsch later admitted to police she consumed two or three glasses of wine two to three hours before the crash but said Boyes drifted into her lane as they passed each other, authorities said.
She also told police she left the crash scene before help arrived because she was scared, officials said.
Ultsch posted the required 10 percent of her $70,000 bail and was released from Lake County jail.
She was charged with identity theft about six months later after she took more than $100 from a financial account she was not allowed to access, authorities said. Her bail was increased by $30,000, but she posted the required 10 percent and was released from jail.
An arrest warrant was issued for Ultsch in early 2016 after she missed several court dates in the DUI case. The Wyoming Highway Patrol picked her up in April near Green River and sent her back to Lake County jail, where she has been held on $150,000 bail.
Assistant State's Attorney Michael Ori said Ultsch was never charged with escape after leaving Illinois because the state and defense attorneys were working on a plea deal at the time. Had the plea deal not gone through, prosecutors were prepared to charge her, Ori said.