Woman Sentenced For DUI Crash That Killed NU Student

A woman was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for fatally striking a Northwestern student near his Old Town home after a night of drinking in 2012.

Bianca Garcia, 23, entered a blind plea of guilty in December to one count each of aggravated DUI involving death, and failure to report a fatal accident, court records show.

On Wednesday, Judge Stanley Sacks sentenced her to a total of 16 years, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Stephen Campbell said.

Garcia was driving a Jeep Liberty in the 1100 block of North LaSalle Street about 2:30 a.m. on March 24, 2012, when she struck 32-year-old Jesse Bradley in a crosswalk, authorities said at the time.

The Jeep continued south on LaSalle, turned the wrong way onto Elm Street, and was stopped by police a few blocks away shortly after the accident, according to police.

Bradley, who lived in the same block, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about half an hour later, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Bradley had been a student at Northwestern’s law school, according to the university, but was on leave at the time of the crash.

Police said she refused sobriety tests at the scene but said her blood alcohol concentration was .168 when it was finally checked.

Court documents showed she had a blood alcohol level of 0.168.

Garcia will receive credit for 236 days served in jail, and must serve at least 85 percent of her sentence, court records show. She must also undergo two years of mandatory supervised release.