Naperville man guilty of driving with amphetamine in system at time of fatal crash
A DuPage County jury decided Friday that Samuel Horvath of Naperville is guilty of misdemeanor driving with the stimulants methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system at the time of a crash between his SUV and a motorcycle that led to a Maple Park woman's death.
Horvath tested positive for the substances several hours after the crash, which happened shortly after 6 p.m. Sept. 9, 2017, at 75th Street and Naperville/Plainfield Road in Naperville.
The motorcyclist, Calabria Taber, 21, died the next day. She had suffered two broken legs, two broken arms, a broken vertebrae, a broken pelvis, a lacerated liver, a lacerated kidney and a perforated bowel.
The jury found Horvath not guilty of felony charges of driving with methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system.
He can be sentenced to probation to up to a year in jail on the misdemeanor charges. Horvath remains free on bond, and will be sentenced Oct. 5.
Two friends of Taber's parents - who could not attend the trial due to health issues - said they were disappointed in the verdict.
"He will be free, with no repercussions for her death," said Laura Rohde. She described Taber as a "sweet, free spirit."
Horvath, 20, testified Wednesday that he had taken a Concerta pill that morning, to help him concentrate when taking the ACT college-entrance examination. He admitted the stimulant medication, which treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was not prescribed to him. Concerta's active ingredient is methylphenidate.
A crime laboratory pathologist testified Wednesday that Horvath's urine tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, which are not in, nor a byproduct of, methylphenidate.
Horvath was driving north on Naperville/Plainfield Road, and made a left turn, on a yellow light. According to his attorney, Adam Harris, Horvath saw Taber exiting a Shell gasoline station on southbound Rickert Drive (which becomes Naperville/Plainfield), and thought she was driving too slow and was too far away to proceed on the yellow.
Harris also said that three witnesses to the crash testified Wednesday that Taber rapidly accelerated after leaving the station, that one of them said Taber had been tailgating a vehicle, and that another said Taber had also been driving between vehicles. Harris said a defense accident specialist determined Taber was 205 feet away from the light when she "rapidly accelerated."
"That was hard to hear, but not very believable," Mike Chaika, a friend of the Taber family, said after the verdict.
The chapter of Illinois law under which Horvath was charged is titled "Driving under the influence." But jurors were instructed to only consider the specific felony charges of "aggravated driving with a drug, a substance or an intoxicating substance in the blood, breath or urine," or the lesser misdemeanor charges. Harris argued that Horvath was not impaired.