The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Todd sentenced to six months in county jail for fatal accident.
By DAVID GRIMES for The Quill
OQUAWKA - A Lomax man who pleaded guilty in Henderson County Circuit Court last fall to charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol was sentenced Friday to six months in the county jail with credit for two days already served.
Jason Todd, 26, hit and killed Stacey Blaine Whitman, 36, Blandinsville, Ill., in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, 2002, as Whitman attempted to walk across Illinois 96 in front of The Pink tavern in Lomax.
After leaving the tavern with his wife, Todd was returning his children's baby-sitter home when the accident occurred.
Todd originally faced eight felony charges stemming from the accident, but those were reduced to one felony count and one misdemeanor count when he entered a plea in November.
His sentencing Friday was for one count of aggravated DUI-alcohol, a class 4 felony. A class A misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death was attached to the felony charge.
The charge of leaving the scene was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor when it was learned that police apprehended Todd in less than an hour's time following the accident. Todd had to be missing more than an hour for the charge to qualify as a felony.
Henderson County States Attorney Ray Cavanaugh argued before Judge Richard Gambrell that while the traffic death was not planned, a 180-day sentence in the county jail was necessary to send a message to Todd and others who might consider driving under the influence.
Todd's defense attorney, Michael Neff, argued that no additional jail time for the defendant would benefit the victim's family, calling the recommended 180-day jail time "excessive."
"This was just a terrible accident," he said.
Todd's wife, Hope, testified that after she and her husband observed their station wagon's demolished windshield, they went to her mother's house to call the accident in to the sheriff's department.
But Cavanaugh said a trace of the phone call from that residence on the night in question indicated only a complaint of noise outside the residence, not an accident.
Cavanaugh noted that Todd has a history of irresponsible behavior dating from when he dropped out of school in 10th grade because of an authority problem with a teacher and his principal to the night of the accident, when the defendant was out on bond from two felony charges in Hancock County.
As a part of the sentence, Cavanaugh asked that Todd be ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to the victim's family.
Neff countered that most of the family's expenses would have been covered by insurance and by the state's crime victim fund.
During sentencing, Gambrell said that while the accident occurred without intent on the part of the defendant, a jail sentence was necessary as a deterrent.
The sentence included an order to pay court costs and fees, the cost of DNA testing and other medical test costs, four years of probation upon release from jail and completion a victim impact program.
Gambrell agreed that most of the victim's family's expenses had been covered by the Crime Victim Services fund and insurance, so instead he ordered Todd to pay $5,000 in restitution to the crime victim assistance program.
Victim impact statements from Whitman's sister, Melissa Walley, and mother, Janet Whitman, were not read during the hearing, but Gambrell said he read them during a break in the session and factored them into his ruling.
Neff requested Todd be able to serve his jail sentence on weekends so he could continue to work to help support his family, but Gambrell said he would not rule on that issue until a future date and after a motion had been filed.
Following Todd's sentencing, Janet Whitman said she was satisfied with the sentence imposed.
"We were so afraid he would get off with nothing," she said.