A man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to driving under the influence for the sixth time and crashing in Lake in the Hills, at a time when he was legally blind, prosecutors said.
Donald Vucic, 38, of Lake in the Hills, was indicted by a grand jury in February 2022 with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, obstructing justice, driving while license revoked, two counts of failure to notify of damage to unattended property and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department responded on December 26, 2021, to a vehicle crash.
Vucic was the driver of the vehicle and struck a parked car, a trash can and a stop sign, prosecutors said.
He left the scene and officers later conducted a traffic stop on him.
Officers smelled Vucic to have a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and bloodshot eyes, prosecutors said.
He was arrested after he was identified by witnesses as the driver of the vehicle that fled the crash.
Prosecutors said Vucic was legally blind at the time of the arrest and admitted to police that he had “quite a bit” to drink that evening.
Vucic had five prior violations for driving under the influence of alcohol in the past and his driver’s license was revoked at the time of the arrest.
Court records show Vucic entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office this week.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence sixth offense, a Class X felony, and one count of driving while license revoked, a Class 4 felony.
McHenry County Judge James Cowlin approved the plea deal Thursday and sentenced Vucic to seven years in the Ilinois Department of Corrections for the DUI charge and one year for driving while license revoked.
The sentences will be served concurrently.