23-year sentence sought for Glendale Heights man in drunken crash that killed 2 in Elgin
A Kane County prosecutor has asked that a Glendale Heights man be sentenced to 23 years in prison for a drunken, high-speed crash that killed two people in Elgin in 2019.
The sentencing hearing for Adrian Velasco, 23, of the 500 block of Gregory Avenue, has been continued to Feb. 25.
Assistant state's attorney Mark Stajdohar said the families of the victims have asked Velasco be sentenced to the maximum, 28 years.
Velasco pleaded guilty in October to two counts of felony aggravated DUI. He was originally charged with reckless homicide as well.
Authorities say he had a blood alcohol content of .271, three times more than the state's legal threshold of .08, when he drove at 77 mph in a 30 mph zone on westbound Summit Street at 1:40 a.m. March 19, 2019.
He crossed into oncoming lanes, left the road and crashed into a Nissan waiting to turn out of a gas station.
The passenger in the Nissan, Omar Zavala, 30, died at the scene. The driver, Norieli Villagomez, 26, was ejected from the vehicle, and died shortly thereafter at a hospital. Both were Elgin residents.
Velasco's passenger told police Velasco had been "driving all crazy" and "was too drunk to drive" after drinking grain alcohol and beer. Open alcohol was found in the car, authorities said.
An Elgin police officer testified Velasco told him he also drank a bottle of whiskey that night. Velasco had bought the whiskey, margarita-flavored malt beverages and beer after leaving his job at a sushi restaurant in Schaumburg around 7 p.m. The officer testified Velasco said he drank because he was about to be fired by his brother, a manager at the restaurant, for refusing to work at a certain task.
Several people read victim-impact statements during the hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Ingrid Villagomez said every time somebody mentions drunken driving, distracted driving or crashes, "memories of my sister, the cries, the pain, the loneliness hit me like the car that hit her."
A friend of the Villagomez family called Velasco "the scumbag that destroyed multiple families," and referred to a humorous comment about drunken driving Velasco had made on Facebook the day before the crash. "I know you as the person who took two lives just because for you it was fun to drink and drive," Jesus Hernandez said.