A man was charged after he admitted it was “all my fault,” saying he worked 36 hours straight and fell asleep at the wheel, causing a crash that contributed to a woman’s death in Gurnee.
Anthony M. Erickson, 33, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, was charged with aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily harm or permanent disability, a Class 4 felony.
The charges stem from a two-vehicle crash that happened around 11:15 a.m. on March 4, 2020, at Route 132 and Hunt Club Road in Gurnee.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said Erickson driving a vehicle westbound on Route 132, also known as Grand Avenue, approaching the four-way intersection at Hunt Club Road that is controlled by traffic lights.
A police report said Erickson drove his 2005 Pontiac G6 through the intersection against a red light.
A 2005 Jeep Liberty, driven by a 43-year-old woman, was struck by the Pontiac while the Jeep traveled southbound in the intersection on a green light, the report said.
The 43-year-old woman driving the Jeep and her passenger, Sandra Bear, 77, of Lindenhurst, were both transported to the hospital.
Bear suffered broken ribs and died in the hospital 12 days later, Shanley-Roberts said.
The crash and her broken ribs were noted as a contributing factor in her death. The main cause was listed as aspiration pneumonia.
Shanley-Roberts said Erickson told officers that the crash was his fault and that he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
He said he was working a 24-hour shift beginning on March 2, 2020, and then took an extra 12-hour shift.
Erickson ended work at 7 a.m. and drove to Gurnee to meet his grandmother, Shanley-Roberts said. He left there and began driving to Antioch when the crash occurred.
Erickson said he was nodding off throughout the day and should not have been driving, Shanley-Roberts said. “It’s all my fault, I went through the red light,” he told officers.
Erickson was initially cited for disobeying a traffic control device and driving an uninsured motor vehicle.
He was later charged in late 2021 with the felony aggravated reckless driving charge and a notice to appear in court was issued.
The notice was unsuccessful and an arrest warrant was issued on December 2, 2021.
Erickson was taken into custody in Lake County last month — four years after the warrant. He was ordered detained pending trial following a detention hearing.
After the crash but before he was taken into custody on the warrant, Erickson was arrested four times in Wisconsin, including strangulation and suffocation, operating while revoked and fleeing or eluding an officer. He was sentenced to prison in Wisconsin.
Erickson has been held in the Lake County Jail since his detention hearing last month and on Thursday, he pleaded guilty to the charge against him, court records show.
He was released from the jail after being sentenced to conditional discharge as part of the plea deal.