Driver gets probation for DUI, pot crash that killed Elgin woman
The driver in a crash that killed an Elgin woman in 2018 pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.
In exchange, Dave Flynn, 27, of the 3600 block of West Banck Drive in Alsip, was sentenced to four years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service.
Kane County Judge John Barsanti accepted the plea agreement.
Flynn was originally also charged with reckless homicide for the June 26, 2018, crash on McLean Boulevard near Lawrence Avenue.
He had a blood alcohol content of .056, which is below the legal threshold of .08 for intoxication. But he also had 6.6 nanograms/ml of THC in his blood, more than the legal threshold of 5ng/ml for intoxication, according to Assistant State's Attorney John Kinsella. Flynn could have been sentenced to three to 14 years in prison.
Kinsella said the family of the victim, 25-year-old Maria De Jesus Ayala, agreed with the plea agreement.
The crash happened around 4 a.m. According to an Elgin police report, Flynn told police he and Ayala had attended a party in Chicago and were driving to her house. She fell asleep on his shoulder and began to mumble. Flynn looked down to wake her, and struck a tree, according to the report.
Flynn will also have to submit a handwritten letter of apology to Ayala's family.