By Jeff Kolkey
Posted Oct. 6, 2015 at 9:43 AM
Updated Oct 6, 2015 at 9:01 PMBELVIDERE — Former Rockford police officer Daniel Cruz is asking for clemency after he injured three Poplar Grove women and paralyzed another in May 2012 when he rammed their Oldsmobile Bravada off the road while off duty and driving drunk.Cruz, 41, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2014 by Judge C. Robert Tobin III to eight years in prison for aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm. His projected date of release is February 2021, but his prison term could be cut short if granted clemency by the governor's office."I know the wrong I have done, and I vow to continue to make positive choices in my life," Cruz wrote in a clemency petition filed with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. "Please know I will never drink and drive again, as God (is) my witness. In addition, I would follow any probation or rules placed upon me."Saying he has made positive changes in his life since the crash, Cruz on Wednesday will argue before the board that releasing him would benefit his sons, ages 7 and 9, who are suffering because of his absence.A Rockford Police Department officer for 13 years and a U.S. Army veteran, Cruz said that since the crash he has undergone alcohol addiction treatment, obtained advanced degrees, taken parenting classes and served as a model prisoner.Cruz wrote that he would agree to ankle monitoring or home confinement.But Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle Courier will travel to Springfield to fight Cruz's request.Similar arguments were made at his sentencing hearing before Judge Tobin. The judge noted Cruz’s clean criminal record, track record as an outstanding father, military service and years as a police officer before passing sentence.Cruz was off duty and driving with a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit just after 9 p.m. on May 21, 2012, on Beloit Road.Four Poplar Grove women had piled into an SUV after attending an informal book club meeting and were headed home. Cruz attempted to pass their Oldsmobile in a no-passing zone near a sharp curve in the area of Townhall Road.He crashed into the Oldsmobile rather than collide head-on with an oncoming pick-up truck. The Oldsmobile was sent rolling over through a farm field before coming to rest on its tires.Lynn S. Acker, Sara Cernohous and Kim Hawkinson all suffered injuries. Renowned area golfer Mary “Suzie” Danielson was left paralyzed from the neck down. An autopsy determined that Danielson died in September 2014 of a viral infection that was unrelated to injuries she suffered in the crash.Tobin found that instead of rendering aid, Cruz tried to leave the crash scene and lied to a firefighter about his involvement in the crash as he tried to flee.
Page 2 of 2 - “You didn’t call 911, you called for a getaway car,” Tobin said at the May 2014 sentencing hearing. “You had two choices: Stick around or flee. You fled.”Despite his claims to accept responsibility for his actions, "he has spent more time making sure he is viewed as the victim," Courier said.He blames his work for the Rockford Police Department for his drinking problem, blames the women in the crash for refusing his "military combat lifesaving skills," and law enforcement for not understanding that he was actually trying to help, Courier said."Sadly, Mr. Cruz has noted his children are facing difficulties ... what Mr. Cruz needs to understand is that he is solely responsible for those difficulties," Courier said. "Cruz claimed to accept responsibility for what he had done, but he never identified in his petition anything he did was wrong. The state believes Mr. Cruz will only learn how to be held accountable by serving the remainder of his sentence.”Dorothy Schneider contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment