An Island Lake man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for having a blood alcohol content almost triple the legal limit when he crashed into a car, leaving two teens seriously injured in 2014.
Michael E. Smith, 51, of Island Lake, was sentenced by McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a revoked license.
Prosecutors said that Smith went to the Twisted Moose Bar in McHenry on November 2, 2014 and consumed ten beers and ten shots of liquor.
Smith left and drove his Ford Ranger in the wrong lane of traffic on River Road before colliding with a Dodge Neon that had four teenagers inside. Two of the teenagers in the Dodge suffered great bodily harm as a result of the crash, according to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Smith later submitted to chemical testing, which revealed his blood alcohol level was .225, almost triple the legal limit. The man’s driving privileges had previously been revoked because he had three prior charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Smith is facing a mandatory term in the Department of Corrections based upon his prior convictions and is also subject to truth-in-sentencing guidelines because of the injuries the victims suffered.
The case was investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Michael Combs and Judy Shammo.