Sandra Vasquez has been found guilty in the drunk driving deaths of five teenagers in Oswego in 2007.
The jury returned the verdict in the Kendall County Courthouse this afternoon after almost 12 hours of deliberation.
She faces 28 years on the 5 counts of reckless homicide and 16 counts of aggravated DUI of which she is now convicted. She will be sentenced August 27.
The Chicago Tribune reports Vasquez showed no emotion as the verdict was read or as she was taken into custody. Family members in court cried, according to the Trib. Above is the photo taken as Vasquez was booked into the Kendall County Jail this afternoon.
Case background
On February 11, 2007, Vasquez went to a home in the Boulder Hill subdivision to pick up her younger sister from a party. She testified she was called inside the home where there were a group of drunk teens who needed a ride home.
Vasquez, who is now 26 and the mother of two young children, said she agreed to give one teen a ride home but when he got into her car, seven others piled inside too.
The car was a 2001 Infiniti Q30 which seats 5.
Vasquez admitted she was speeding at 2:20 a.m. as she headed to an address where the teens said they all wanted to be dropped off. She testified the alcohol she drank earlier in the night did not effect her driving.
Also during her testimony, she said one of the teens in the back seat kicked her seat and she turned around to see what was going on. When she looked back at the road, she said she saw headlights and she swerved. She lost control and the car crashed into a utility pole at the intersection of Route 31 and River Bend in Oswego.
Four of the teens died immediately, a fifth died several days later. Killed were Katherine Merkel, 14; James McGee, 14; Jessica Nutoni, 15; Tiffany Urso, 16; and Mathew Frank, 17. (Click here for Facebook memorial)
The three other teens in the car were also injured. They testified at the trial but could not recall the accident. Vasquez herself was also seriously hurt and suffered internal injuries, including liver damage.
The damage to her liver was a key point in the defense argument. Attorney Kathleen Colton brought in a toxicology expert to testify that damage to the liver could have skewed the results of Vasquez's blood alcohol content test. blood drawn at the hospital indicated an alcohol content of between 0.113 - 0.121, according to testimony. The legal limit in Illinois is .08.
Throughout the trial, the family of the victims sat on one side of the court while family and friends of Vasquez sat on the other. Vasquez stared straight ahead throughout the proceedings. She has been free on bond since charges were filed against her in 2007.
Comments
how can you let someone off for something like this? you got behind the wheel knowing you had alcohol in your system whether you FELT drunk or not , legally you were beyond it. you shouldn't have put teens lives in danger. what if that was her two kids? she wouldn't have wanted that person to see the light of day. we let drunk drivers off too easy. in my eyes they're murderers. they should get the same punishment. this lady should have spent her life in prison or lost her life for that matter.
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