Woman gets 8 years in prison for DUI crash that killed 2 near Sugar Grove, Illinois

A woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for driving drunk and causing a crash that left a man and woman dead near Sugar Grove, Illinois, back in 2023.

Melissa Hill pleaded guilty on June 22 to two counts of aggravated driving under the influence in a crash causing death, a Class 2 felony, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's office.

The crash happened late on the night of Friday, July 21, 2023, in the area of Bliss Road at Seavey Road in Blackberry Township.

Hill had left a nearby home and was headed south on the two-lane Bliss Road a silver BMW X5, authorities said. She was trying to pass another vehicle when she entered the northbound lane in a no-passing zone and her car hit a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck head-on, the state's attorney's office said.

This caused a four-car crash.

The driver of the pickup truck, Jonathan Couch, 54, of Sugar Grove, and his passenger, Teresa Haidl, 56, of Batavia, both died. Couch died at a local hospital the following morning, while Haidl died two days later.

The passengers of the other two vehicles involved in the crash suffered minor injuries.

Hill was also taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. Her blood alcohol content was .236, nearly three times the legal limit, prosecutors said.

A partially consumed bottle of wine was found on the floorboard of Hill's car, and very loud music was playing on the car audio system, prosecutors said.

The maximum sentence Hill could have received was 28 years. She must serve 85% of her eight-year sentence.