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Man gets 8 years in prison for fatal DUI
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By George Houde
Special to the Tribune

February 6, 2007

A Hanover Park man accused of running a red light last year and killing a Hoffman Estates woman was sentenced Monday to 8 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to drunken driving.

Javier Rico, 26, who lived in the 6700 block of Pine Tree Street pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol involving a death during a hearing before Judge John Scotillo in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court.

Police said Rico was driving a minivan that collided around 1:30 a.m. May 29 with a car driven by Patricia Henneken, 28, as she left a parking lot at 2560 Golf Rd., Hoffman Estates. She had gone to a drugstore to pick up a prescription for her son.

Police said the minivan had nearly collided earlier with another car, and an officer had been pursuing it at speeds up to 100 m.p.h. Police said Rico had a blood alcohol level of 0.23, nearly three times the legal limit for drivers in Illinois.

Prosecutors agreed to drop reckless homicide and other charges in exchange for a guilty plea. At the time of the crash, he was wanted on a warrant alleging he had failed to appear in court for a drunken-driving charge from March 2006, authorities said.

Henneken's mother, Sandy Innis, of Lake in the Hills said after the sentencing that no punishment could make up for the loss of her daughter.

"It's never really enough," Innis said. "She was a beautiful woman. She had a heart of gold."

Rico was not seriously injured in the crash. He did not have a driver's license and is an undocumented immigrant with a wife and child in Mexico, authorities said.

Barry Lloyd, an assistant public defender, said Rico felt remorse for his actions.

"He knows he can't relieve the pain of their suffering, but he wants the family to know he's very sorry for what he did," Lloyd said.
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