Willowbrook man headed to prison for 2017 fatal hit and run

A Willowbrook man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a fatal hit-and-run crash on the night of May 17, 2017, that killed a Westmont man and injured four others.

Marlon Myles, 20, of the 16W500 block of Honeysuckle Rose Lane, was sentenced after pleading guilty to leaving the scene and failing to report a crash involving a death. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped two charges of aggravated driving under the influence.

Assistant State's Attorney Nick Catizone said Myles pulled his 1999 Buick onto Route 83 from Mockingbird Lane at 11:42 p.m. when he collided with a silver Nissan carrying Abin Mathew, 26, of Westmont, and four others, which was traveling south on Route 83.

He said the Nissan "fishtailed" before going off the road and striking a tree. The impact ejected Mathew, who was the rear middle passenger, through the window, killing him instantly.

Prosecutors said Myles fled and within 25 minutes was texting photos of his damaged car, which he called "El Chapo," to friends. His rear bumper, containing his license plate, remained at the scene.

"El Chapo has been injured," he wrote.

Police arrested Myles at his apartment about four hours after the crash.

"This morning, (Myles) learned that his decision to leave the scene of a crash that killed an innocent man will cost him a significant amount of time behind bars," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said after the hearing.

The four injured people were taken to area hospitals and were later released.

Judge John Kinsella reminded Myles, who with 532 days credit will likely serve about three more years before being paroled, that he has time to turn his life around and "do something to make (his) family proud."

"Life is serendipitous. And I don't meant that in a good way," Kinsella told Myles at sentencing. "It sounds like you did a stupid thing and you are going to pay dearly for it."

Prior to his plea, Myles faced up to 15 years in prison. He has been held on $100,000 bail since his arrest.