Timothy A. Sampson, 44, of Waukegan.

A Waukegan man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for driving under the influence during a high-speed crash that left his 28-year-old friend dead near Gurnee.

Timothy A. Sampson, 44, of the 0-100 block of South Dilger Avenue in Waukegan, was charged with four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing death, a Class 2 felony.

Sampson on Monday entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, court records show.

He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing death, a Class 2 felony, in exchange for his other charges being dismissed.

Sampson was the driver of a 2001 Jaguar X that crashed on Route 41 north of Kilbourne Road near Gurnee around 1:30 a.m. August 9, 2019.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said that the Jaguar was traveling northbound on Route 41 when Sampson lost control of the vehicle and it went off the roadway, striking a tree.

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Police found the vehicle in the trees east of the roadway with heavy damage. Sampson and his passenger, Patrick P. Murdock, 28, of Beach Park, were both trapped in the vehicle.

Murdock, who was friends with Sampson, sustained significant injuries from the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, Covelli said.

One person was killed and another was seriously injured after a car struck a tree on Route 41 near Kilbourne Road in Gurnee on August 9, 2019. | Photo: LMCScanner / Google Maps

Sampson was extricated from the vehicle by firefighters and transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with serious injuries.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team began an extensive investigation into the crash.

Toxicology results, medical records, a full traffic crash reconstruction and other detailed information were gathered, Covelli said.

Covelli said investigators determined Sampson was operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

Investigators said that Sampson’s intoxication was the proximate cause of Murdock’s death.

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Investigators met with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, who approved the felony charges and an arrest warrant was issued in January 2020.

Police were unable to locate Sampson and the case was turned over to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Team.

Sampson was located at a residence in Waukegan in March 2021 and taken into custody without incident.

A Lake County judge on Monday approved Sampson’s plea deal and sentenced him to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Sampson was ordered held in the Lake County Jail pending transport to a state prison.