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Tuesday, March 4, 2014
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Expert: Schmidt was speeding Trial on reckless homicide charges to continue today By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE — A 49-yearold Sycamore woman accused of reckless homicide was driving her pick-up truck 78 mph in a 45-mph zone just before the crash that killed a local couple in 2011, court testimony revealed Monday. Sgt. Robert Story of the Illinois State Police, who
handled Patricia Schmidt’s truck’s event data recorder, testified there was no indication Schmidt slowed down or drastically swerved to avoid the fatal crash Feb. 21, 2011, at Route 23 and Peace Road in Sycamore. Monday was the second day of the bench trial for Schmidt, of the 28500 block of Brickville Road in Sycamore, after a nearly two-month break from
the trial’s first day in January. Prosecutors argue Schmidt, who has a seizure condition, shouldn’t have been driving. She is standing trial on charges of reckless homicide and aggravated reckless driving in connection with the crash that killed Tim Getzelman, a 21-year-old Sycamore High School graduate, and his girlfriend, Alexis Weber, a 21-year-old Kaneland High
School graduate. If convicted of the more serious charge, reckless homicide, Schmidt could face probation or up to five years in prison. At Schmidt’s request, DeKalb County Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert will determine her guilt or innocence. The trial is expected to continue today and Wednesday, as well as April 2 and 3.
Sycamore police Sgt. Steve Cook testified for the prosecution Monday, along with other police officers and a Ford Motor Co. engineer. Cook’s testimony revealed that several prescription pill bottles found at Schmidt’s home April 6, 2011, had warnings about driving while taking them. One of the labels for lorazepam, which is often prescribed to treat anxiety disorders, warned it may cause
On the web To follow today’s proceedings or see video from the trial, log on to Daily-Chronicle.com or scan this QR code with your smartphone.
See CHARGES, page A3
FATAL FIRE
Russia’s Ukraine agenda darkens By DALTON BENNETT and DAVID McHUGH The Associated Press
Monica Maschak - mmaschak@shawmedia.com
The remains of a house at 485 Hyde Road north of Earlville is all that remains after a fire that killed two and injured one early Sunday morning. As of Monday the cause of the fire was still unknown.
No foul play suspected 2 die, 1 injured as blaze destroys house outside Earlville heat of the fire woke him about 4 a.m., DeKalb County Sheriff Chief Deputy Gary Dumdie said. Jones, EARLVILLE – Matthew W. 53, and Williams’ sister, Dawn M. Jones tried to put out the fire that Williams, 49, of Ripon, Wis. died was consuming his rural Earlville in the blaze, authorities said Monfarm house Sunday morning be- day. fore the blaze killed him and his “[Eric WIlliams] told us Jones ex-wife, fire survivor Eric Wil- was trying to put out the fire and liams told authorities. told him to get out,” Dumdie said. Williams, 48, of Lone Rock, “You can hear on the 911 tape, he Wis., was sleeping in the living tells operators he tried to get back room on the ground floor of the into the house, but the heat was two-story farm house when the too much.”
By KATIE DAHLSTROM
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Authorities have not yet determined the cause or source of the house fire, but it does not appear to be suspicious, authorities said. The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office and DeKalb County Sheriff’s police are continuing their investigation. Eric Williams called 911 from outside the house at 485 Hyde Road, north of Earlville and just north of the DeKalb-LaSalle County line. He was taken to Mendota Hospital where he was treated for
minor burns and released; he has returned to Wisconsin to recover with family. When Earlville firefighters arrived 11 minutes after receiving the call, the home was fully engulfed in flames, Dumdie said. The home is located at the corner of Svedsen and Hyde Roads in southwest DeKalb County, about four miles north of Earlville. Jones’ and Dawn Williams’
See FIRE, page A3
KIEV, Ukraine – Russian troops said to be 16,000 strong tightened their stranglehold on Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula Monday, openly defying the U.S. and the European Union and rattling world capitals and stock markets. The West struggled to find a way to get Russia to back down, but with little beyond already threatened diplomatic and economic sanctions, global markets fell sharply over the prospect of violent upheaval in the heart of Europe. For its part, Moscow reiterated its price for ending the crisis: restoration of a deal reached with the opposition less than two weeks ago to form a national unity government in Kiev that represents pro-Russian as well as Ukrainian interests, with new elections to be held by December. Ukraine, meanwhile, accused Russia of piracy for blocking two of the besieged country’s warships and ordering them to surrender or be seized. The U.S. originally estimated that 6,000 Russian troops were dispatched to Crimea, but Ukraine’s mission to the United Nations said Monday that 16,000 had been deployed. That stoked fears that the Kremlin might carry out more land grabs in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was headed to Kiev in an expression of support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, and the EU threatened a raft of punitive measures as it called an emergency summit for Thursday. The Pentagon said it was suspending exercises and other activities with the Russian military.
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