New DUI guilty plea for suburban Chicago man who got 10 years in boat crash that killed woman
WOODSTOCK, Ill. (CBS) -- A northwest suburban man has pleaded guilty to drunken driving again, many years after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for a drunken boat crash that killed a Wisconsin woman.
Back on May 28, 2022, Ricky McGuire, 67, of Wonder Lake was spotted by the McHenry County Sheriff's office after crashing into a fence at a home in that village, according to the McHenry County State's Attorney's office.
A deputy turned on the lights on his squad car and came up to McGuire's crashed car to check on him, prosecutors said. At that point, McGuire's car's brake and reverse lights went on – and the car began to back up before going forward and crashing right back into the fence again, prosecutors said.
This went on to happen four more times before deputies finally got McGuire's attention, prosecutors said. They saw that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and he smelled like alcohol, prosecutors said.
McGuire was taken to a local hospital, prosecutors said. While he had not been injured, testing found that his blood alcohol level was .300 – more than three times the legal limit.
The earlier case against McGuire dates back nearly 16 years. Early on the morning of July 6, 2008, McGuire was operating an 18-foot Sea Ray boat on Wonder Lake while drunk, according to published reports.
He crashed into a 15-foot Starcraft boat skippered by Wonder Lake resident David Lebrecht – who was carrying one passenger, 21-year-old Nicole Jurgens, according to published reports. Lebrecht was treated and released from the hospital, but Jurgens died in the crash, published reports said.
In that case, a McHenry County jury sentenced McGuire to 10 years in prison after a trial in 2010.
McGuire also had a driving under the influence conviction dating back to 1989.
In this latest case, McGuire is facing up to seven years in prison. He will be sentenced by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt on May 22.
