A truck driver has been sentenced to two years in prison for a crash that killed an Illinois State Trooper.
25-year-old Andrew Bokelman pled guilty to three felony counts, which include:
- Driving a commercial vehicle while fatigued
- Working longer than 14 hours
- Filing false logs to conceal hours worked.
The March 28, 2013 crash happened in Northbrook on I-294 at Willow Road. 28-year-old Trooper James Sauter was parked on the shoulder of the southbound lanes working on paperwork at the time of the crash. Witnesses claimed that the truck swerved left before striking the cruiser. Another trucker told police that he did not see the brake lights light up on Bokelman’s truck during the crash.
The cruiser was pushed about 500 feet before it erupted in flames. Bokelman jumped out of the truck and tried to save Sauter, but a fireball kept him from getting close enough to help. Sauter died at the scene.
Bokelman admitted that his work day had begun 18 hours before the crash.
By pleading guilty, Bokelman avoided going to trial and facing a longer prison sentence.
Sources:
The Chicago Tribune
Patch