BELLEVILLE, Ill. — An Illinois man who was drunk when he caused a wrong-way crash that killed two people in 2017 will spend the next 18 years in prison.
Kevin G. Helfrich of New Athens was charged with DUI and two counts of reckless homicide back in 2017 after the July 8 crash that killed John Bannister and Daryl Harton. He entered a guilty plea on all three counts on Jan. 23, 2019 and was sentenced Monday.
The 2017 arrest was not Helfrich's first for DUI. According to arrest reports, he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in New Athens in 2000, in Belleville in 2009 and in Marissa in 2015. DUI charges in those cases were dismissed.
“This case was an especially egregious violation," Illinois State's Attorney James Gormic said in a press release, "from the alcohol content of Helfrich’s blood being three-times the legal limit, to the tragic loss of life that resulted from Helfrich’s decisions.”
