Aurora man gets 6 years for fatal DUI crash
A man who killed his passenger in a drunken driving crash while they were going to pick up a pizza was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.
Gustavo Gonzalez-Aguilar, 38, of the 0-99 block of Margarets Lane in Aurora could have been sentenced to up to 14 years in prison for aggravated DUI - causing death.
The crash happened at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 13, 2020, at Mountain Street and Austin Avenue. Gonzalez-Aguilar hit a tree, and passenger Lazaro Rojas-Garcia, 29, of Aurora died shortly afterward. Police estimated Gonzalez-Aguilar was driving almost 46 mph in a 25-mph zone.
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney David Belshan asked for an eight-year sentence. He told Judge David Kliment that Gonzalez-Aguilar had a blood alcohol content of .204 right after the crash and .173 a few hours later.
Rojas-Garcia was the brother of Gonzalez-Aguilar's live-in girlfriend. He brought a 12-pack of beer to Gonzalez-Aguilar's house. Later, they decided to get a pizza, Belshan said.
Belshan said Gonzalez-Aguilar did not want Rojas-Garcia driving because he was intoxicated, especially since Rojas-Garcia's young son was with them.
Gonzalez-Aguilar told police he had drunk six bottles of beer, according to Belshan. But most recently, when being evaluated for sentencing, Gonzalez-Aguilar told an evaluator that he had drunk nine beers.
"He killed his best friend. He killed his brother (in-law). This is going to haunt him for the rest of his life," Belshan said, acknowledging Gonzalez-Aguilar was remorseful. But, he said, Gonzalez-Aguilar's explanation was "nonsensical."
Gonzalez had two prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol, and his license was revoked at the time of the crash.
Defense attorney Bruce Self asked for probation or no more than three years in prison. "There was no way that Gustavo contemplated that his driving close to home to pick up a pizza would result" in the death, Self said.
The judge disagreed.
"There were so many other choices he could have made," Kliment said, such as having the pizza delivered.
Gonzalez-Aguilar pleaded guilty on May 18. Other charges, including reckless homicide, were dropped in exchange for the plea.
He received credit for 53 days he spent in jail, plus 936 days on home confinement, awaiting trial and sentencing. He will have to serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.