A former Chicago Streets and Sanitation employee was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in prison for plowing the city truck he was driving into a group of people on a Gold Coast sidewalk last May.
Dwight Washington, 62, pleaded last week guilty to four counts of aggravated DUI. He faced a maximum sentence of 24 years.
Five victims took the stand last Friday to offer details on what life has been like since the May 21, 2011 crash at Rush and Cedar streets.
The most seriously injured was a nanny, Jennifer Anton, who was pushing a then-20 month-old toddler in a stroller when the truck came barreling toward her.
"He caused so much pain and so much hardship," Anton said of Washington. "I hope he knows what he did and understands."
In speaking to the press nearly two months after the crash, Anton said she'd already had 11 surgeries and that her medical bills were well above $1 million.
Anton has since sued the city. At least two other lawsuit have been filed, including claims by Stephen Dewart, who was part of a group depicting a wedding shoot, and Hugh Jones, the father of the toddler who was in the stroller.
In his defense, Washington's public defender said Washington was unexpectedly called into work and was afraid he would lose his job if he told his boss he'd been drinking.
