A judge has found trucker Renato Velasquez guilty of five out of 10 counts brought against him after a fatal, fiery crash on Interstate 88.
The decision came during a bench trial Thursday, where Velasquez was found guilty of failing to avoid a stationary emergency vehicle, driving more than 14 hours after a 10-hour rest period and driving while impaired by fatigue. He was found not guilty on multiple counts of falsifying his log book.
He faces between one and three years in prison or a possibility of probation.
"Simply put, Mr. Velasquez's decision to get behind the wheel of his truck while fatigued cost Vincent Petrella his life and severely injured Trooper Balder," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Had Mr. Velasquez gotten the proper amount of rest before driving, Mr. Petrella would be alive today and Trooper Balder would not be looking at a life of pain and suffering."
Velasquez was charged with driving while fatigued, violating safety laws and falsifying records for the January 2014 crash on I-88 near Aurora.
He was not found guilty, however of falsifying his logbooks, a charge thrown out because the state could not prove he did it in Illinois.
Prosecutors said state tollway worker Vincent Petrella and Illinois State Trooper Douglas Balder were pulled over with their emergency lights flashing to help a stranded semi when Velasquez slammed into them. Petrella was killed and Balder was badly injured.
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Velasquez, who was behind the wheel of a tractor trailer near Eola Road in west suburban Aurora, admitted he dozed off, according to prosecutors. They also allege he had worked 37 hours straight on just 3.5 hours of rest but lied about it in order to pick up more jobs.
In court Tuesday the state prosecutor showed gruesome photos and videos of the crash’s aftermath. They called about a dozen witnesses from crash reconstruction experts to Balder himself, where he recalled horrific details of being trapped in his burning squad car.
The defense argued a lot of the testimony was inflammatory, saying it had little to do with Velasquez’s charges, which are mainly traffic-related.
"We were happy he was convicted on three of the four felonies," Balder's wife Kimberli said. "My husband was horribly disfigured. He will live with this for the rest of his life."
