Man gets 10 years in prison for DUI crash that killed 2 in Elgin
A Glendale Heights man was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for killing two people in a drunken, high-speed crash in Elgin in 2019.
Adrian Velasco, 23, could have been sentenced to 28 years maximum, or as few as six, for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar had asked for 23 years.
Kane County Judge John Barsanti said he had to take into account that Velasco had no previous criminal history. But he gave more than the minimum because Velasco drove more than 40 mph over the speed limit, he said.
Barsanti addressed the more than people watching the sentencing in the courtroom, as well as others watching on Zoom and YouTube.
"Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth is not available. I can't give you that," Barsanti said. "I can't make you miss them less or take away your anger."
Velasco pleaded guilty in October to two counts of felony aggravated DUI for the crash, which happened at 1:40 a.m. March 19, 2019.
According to authorities, he had a blood alcohol content of .271, more than three times the state's legal threshold of .08.
He was driving 77 mph in a 30 mph zone on Summit Street, crossed oncoming lanes, left the road and crashed into a Nissan that was waiting to exit a gasoline station.
Omar Zavala, a passenger in the Nissan, died at the scene; the driver, Norieli Villagomez, was ejected and died soon after at a hospital.
The sentencing hearing for Velasco took place over several weeks.
On Feb. 10, police testified Velasco had left his job at a sushi restaurant in Schaumburg around 7 p.m., after a disagreement with his manager, who is his brother. He bought alcohol, drank it, then picked up his passenger. Police found an open whiskey bottle in the car.
Velasco told the court on Feb. 26 he was at a "breaking point" physically, emotionally and mentally that night, and that he thought drinking alcohol would make his pain go away.
"I didn't know when I took that one (first) drink I was going to take the lives of so many people who do not deserve this," Velasco said.
Velasco will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. He will receive credit for the almost two years he has been in the Kane County jail.