What Sentences Are Imposed for Aggravated DUI Causing Death in Chicago?
The selected records report Tania A. Reyna’s five-year prison sentence after a plea and Richard Strum’s retained 15-year aggravated-DUI-causing-death term after appellate corrections. Reyna’s report does not separately allocate punishment between her two pleaded counts; Strum’s other convictions were vacated. These are differently scoped reported outcomes, not two fully qualified final endpoints or a citywide range.
Quick Answer
- Reported prosecution clusters: 2
- Differently scoped reported prison outcomes: Reyna five years with count allocation uninspected; Strum 15 years on retained count I
- Locations: Brighton Park and the Sunnyside/Austin intersection
- System: Illinois state prosecutions
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Illinois Aggravated DUI Causing Death
Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(F) covers a DUI violation that proximately causes another person’s death in a motor-vehicle crash or another accident listed in the statute. The provision can involve alcohol, drugs, intoxicating compounds, or combinations covered by the DUI statute.
Statutory Sentence
The linked current Illinois text was access-unverified in this audit, so a completed current-law or amendment review is not claimed. The 2015 Strum opinion discusses the historical six-to-28-year provision for a violation causing two deaths under the 2010 code version; this is not automatic proof of the present rule or the governing law in every other case.
Observed Chicago Outcomes
| Case | Chicago conduct | Disposition | Reported outcome and scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tania A. Reyna | Fatal crash at California Avenue and 44th Street in Brighton Park | Guilty plea to aggravated DUI counts involving death | Reported five-year prison sentence on May 24, 2017; 323 days’ credit and two years’ supervision separate. Two pleaded counts, no separate count allocation in this report |
| Richard Strum | Collision at Sunnyside and Austin killed two people | Jury conviction; appellate court left one aggravated-DUI-causing-death conviction and its sentence in place | May 14, 2015 opinion affirms 15 years on count I; other six convictions vacated/merged and credit increased by two days. No resentencing remand |
Case Sources
Reyna: The Sun-Times sentencing report reports the May 24 plea to two death-related aggravated-DUI counts, five-year sentence, credit and supervision. Its California Avenue/44th Street account concerns the July 5, 2016 crash; a news report citing records is not direct inspection of the judgment.
Richard Strum: The official May 14, 2015 order, paragraphs 1–9 and 29–34, identifies the August 9, 2011 Sunnyside/Austin crash in Chicago. One 15-year death-related DUI conviction survives; reckless-homicide and other DUI convictions do not. Credit and multiple victims are not additional prison terms or independent prosecutions.
Methodology
Two crash prosecutions are described. The sources have different evidentiary and allocation scopes. Strum’s partial reversal did not order resentencing; it is not a certification that every later remedy was exhausted. Independent municipal-point, Reyna’s original count allocation and exhaustive later-review checks remain incomplete. Relevant passages were actually read September 28, 2026.
Sources
Disclaimer
General information only, not legal advice.