(WHEATON) A southwest suburban man who was legally intoxicated when he crashed a car, killing his friend and injuring another person and himself in 2014, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Judge Robert Kleeman handed down the sentence for 23-year-old Luis Jimenez, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
Jimenez, of the 500 block of Racine Lane in Bolingbrook, entered a plea guilty plea on June 1 two counts of aggravated DUI, a statement from prosecutors said.
About 2 a.m. May 17, 2014, Jimenez and two friends left another friend’s home in Wheaton to go for a joy ride, according to prosecutors.
“Jimenez was driving eastbound at the northbound curve on Sheffield Street in Wheaton at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree,” prosecutors said.
The front-seat passenger, 24-year-old Sean Hurley, of Wheaton, died at the crash site, and a rear-seat passenger was severely injured, prosecutors said. That person and Jimenez were transported to a hospital, where a test revealed Jimenez had a blood alcohol content of 0.09, prosecutors said.
“It is important to remember that if you have been drinking do not get behind the wheel of a car,” state’s attorney Robert Berlin said in a prepared statement. “Alcohol consumption impairs your ability to drive and can potentially lead to fatal consequences, as we saw in this case.”
By law, Jimenez must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
