A Lake Zurich woman, who has a previous conviction for reckless homicide, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to driving in Crystal Lake while five times over the legal drinking limit.
Patricia A. Demaio, 40, of Lake Zurich, was charged in November 2021 with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 3 felony.
Officers responded around 12:50 p.m. on September 25, 2021, to a call of a person slumped behind the wheel of a car at Pingree Road and Tracy Trail in Crystal Lake.
Officers found a silver Toyota Camry stopped at a stop sign with several bystanders surrounding Demaio next to her car, according to a police report.
The bystanders had taken the woman’s keys from her car after she reportedly became unconscious at the wheel.
Demaio was determined to be severely intoxicated and an ambulance was called to the scene, the report said.
Paramedics immediately transported the woman to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Woodstock for treatment.
The report said open liquor bottles were found in Demaio’s vehicle and her blood alcohol content was determined to be 0.425 — over five times the legal limit.
Demaio was initially charged with numerous misdemeanors for driving under the influence and other traffic offenses.
The charges were later upgraded to felonies due to the woman having a previous reckless homicide conviction in 2003 in DeKalb County, according to a grand jury indictment.
The indictment said the 2003 incident was the result of Demaio being under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating compounds. The crash left a man, John Moore, dead.
Demaio was convicted of that offense in July 2004.
Court records show Demaio entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office on Wednesday.
She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 3 felony.
McHenry County Judge James Cowlin sentenced Demaio to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The sentence will be required to be served at 50% under truth-in-sentencing guidelines.