Aurora Man Sentenced to 10 years in Deadly DUI Crash

Thomas G. Ofenloch Jr., 26, of Aurora, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a DUI crash that killed two of his friends in 2007. The sentence stems from an Aug. 4, 2007 crash and claimed the lives of two former high school classmates of Ofenloch, Joshua Sutton and Andrew Berger.

Ofenloch’s classmates were passengers in his car when it became airborne, running through an intersection, and slamming into a tree. An accident specialist testified that the car was traveling between 104 and 113 mph when it left the road, and 58mph when it hit the tree.

The three young men had been at a party together. According to prosecutors, a blood test taken at the hospital showed that Ofenloch’s BAC was almost twice the legal limit, he also had marijuana in his system. The Kane County judge noted Ofenloch’s history of “herrendous” driving. He was allegedly arrested for DUI just 5 weeks before the fatal crash.

Ofenloch pleaded guilty in February to two counts of aggravated DUI and one count of DUI in the Kane County case. He had faced a maximum 28 year sentence. Ofenloch’s criminal defense attorney argued that Ofenloch had turned his life around, even giving speeches about his story. The prosecutor requested a 12-year sentence arguing that Ofenloch had not done anything special since the incident, just followed the rules. He must serve 85% of the 10 year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Aurora man gets 10 years in fatal DUI crash, www.chicagobreakingnews.com, July 30, 2010 10 year sentence in DUI accident that killed two young suburban men, www.examiner.com, July 30, 2010