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A judge sentenced a woman to 10 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to driving drunk and hitting a child with her car, leaving the victim severely injured, at a farmers market in Crystal Lake.
Janice M. Easty, 77, of the 400 block of Oxford Lane in Crystal Lake, was charged in August 2021 with three counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily harm.
Court documents said that Easty was driving her Toyota Avalon northbound on Country Club Road near Golf Road in Crystal Lake around 2:30 p.m. on August 15, 2021.
The Toyota struck a 9-year-old child, causing great bodily harm to the child, who suffered severe internal injuries, a criminal complaint said.
The complaint alleged that Easty was under the influence of alcohol while driving the Toyota.
The incident occurred in front of the Farmers Market At The Dole in the 400 block of Country Club Road.
A witness told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that the child appeared to be a young girl.
Easty was arrested at the scene by police, the witness said.
The arresting officer noted in court documents that Easty struck the child, along with a second pedestrian, while they were on the sidewalk.
Easty admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages and failed testing at the scene, the officer said.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Derek Hyrkas said at the time that the child was expected to survive.
Easty was released from the McHenry County Jail after posting 10% of a $15,000 bond, court records show.
Court records show Easty entered into a negotiated plea deal on Wednesday with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily harm, a Class 4 felony, in exchange for her other charges being dismissed.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis approved the plea and sentenced Easty to 10 days in jail and 30 months of probation.
Davis found several factors of mitigation in the case, including that Easty has no criminal history and the circumstances are “unlikely to reoccur.”
Davis also found that the imprisonment of Easty would endanger her medical condition.
The court ordered Easty to undergo a drug and alcohol addiction evaluation and treatment.
Jail records show Easty will be released from the McHenry County Jail on January 12.
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ISSN No. 2769-4283.
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10 days in jail for drunk driver that struck, severely injured child at … – Lake and McHenry County Scanner
