The driver of the vehicle involved in a fatal crash on Hanover Road last fall has entered a guilty plea on two counts of aggravated DUI (causing death and causing bodily harm).

Trevor Stawizynski was 16 during a Sept. 1 crash which took the life of 15-year-old Columbia High School student Crawford Bryant and caused serious injuries to another minor passenger who is a male CHS student.

In agreeing to plead guilty to the DUI charges, the Monroe County State’s Attorney Office has agreed to drop a charge of reckless homicide involving a motor vehicle and request a cap of no more than 12 years in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility.

Sentencing in the criminal case is set for Sept. 3 in Monroe County Circuit Court – one year and two days to the day of the crash.

On Feb. 24, Stawizynski was charged as an adult in Monroe County Circuit Court with aggravated DUI (accident resulting in death), aggravated DUI (accident resulting in great bodily harm), and reckless homicide (motor vehicle).

The aggravated DUI charges allege Stawizynski drove a 2013 Nissan Altima while under the influence of alcohol when it crashed about 3 p.m. Sept. 1 in the 4100 block of Hanover Road. 

Aggravated DUI involving death is a non-probational Class 2 felony, with a conviction resulting in a sentence of 3-14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections or Juvenile Justice Center. 

Aggravated DUI involving injury is a non-probational Class 4 felony punishable by 1-12 years in IDOC or a juvenile center.

The reckless homicide charge, now expected to be dismissed, is a Class 4 felony that alleges Stawizynski, while acting in a reckless manner, performed acts likely to cause the death of or great bodily harm to another and led to Bryant’s death.

Reckless homicide in Illinois generally carries a sentence of 5-10 years in a correctional facility.

Stawizynski is also named in two civil suits filed by the families of two of the occupants of the vehicle at the time of the crash. 

A wrongful death suit was filed March 10 on behalf of the Bryant family. Damages in excess of $75,000 are being sought.

That lawsuit was later amended to include one count of violating the Illinois Dram Shop Act against Muktanand Inc., doing business as Stop & Go Liquor at 8700 Collinsville Road in Collinsville.

The filing alleges the employees of the liquor store “sold or gave alcoholic liquor to the public, and specifically to Trevor Stawizynski, which thereby caused his intoxication” and led to the fatal crash.

A status hearing is set in that suit for Aug. 18.

A separate lawsuit was filed June 4 on behalf of the family of a different minor passenger in the crash who suffered “severe and permanent injuries,” including nerve, bone, spine, vertebrae and brain damage,” the filing states.

The six-count suit names the same parties as the Bryant family suit – although the filing contains an additional count of negligent entrustment against a male relative of Stawizynski.  

The lawsuit also includes a count appealing to the Family Expense Act which states any person in the family is liable for debt of another family member.

The filing alleges the defendants are responsible for medical bills, with the plaintiffs seeking an amount exceeding $50,000.

The names of the plaintiffs in that suit are listed as John, Jane and Jack Doe following a successful request to “appear using fictitious names” in order to “protect the identity and privacy of the minor plaintiff.”

An initial case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 11 at the Monroe County Courthouse. 

Monroe County Resident Judge Chris Hitzemann has been assigned to preside over both cases.