Man gets five years for injuring couple in DUI crash

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Eric M. Barth / photo from Kane County State's Attorney's office

A northwest suburban man has been sentenced to five years in prison for severely injuring a man and his wife in a December 2010 DUI crash.

Eric M. Barth, 22, of Franklin, Ohio, and formerly of South Elgin, was sentenced by Circuit Judge David Akemann, who also recommended that Barth participate in Illinois’ Impact Incarceration Program, according to a release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office.

The program attempts to help rehabilitate young offenders with a highly structured military routine, substance abuse treatment, counseling, and an academic and social skills program. Successful completion would reduce Barth’s sentence at the discretion of IDOC.

On July 6, 2011, Barth pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI for the Dec. 29, 2010, crash

At about 9:45 p.m. Dec. 29, 2010, Barth was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup east on Plank Road when his vehicle crossed into the opposite lane and struck a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali SUV head-on, the release said. A 2002 Hyundai Sonata that was traveling behind the Yukon was unable to stop and struck both vehicles.

The Yukon’s driver and passenger, a Hampshire man and his wife, suffered serious injuries, from which they continue to recover. The passenger suffered numerous internal injuries, including a collapsed lung, and several broken bones in her left shoulder, arm and hand. Immediately after the crash she was on a ventilator to aid her breathing. The driver suffered a broken neck vertebrae and a broken right leg, the release said.

The driver of the Sonata and a passenger in the Sonata suffered minor injuries, and a passenger in Barth’s Silverado also suffered minor injuries.

Barth initially fled the crash scene on foot, but returned shortly after. Kane County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the crash scene found two empty Miller Lite cans and two unopened Busch beer cans on the floor in front of the driver’s seat.

Barth’s blood-alcohol concentration was .207 percent at the time, more than 2½ times the legal limit for driving, according to prosecutors.

By law, Barth must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. He was given credit for at least 313 days served in the Kane County jail, where he had been held since the crash on $1 million bond.

Barth had lived in South Elgin, but had moved to Ohio before the crash.