Warrenville Man Gets Six Years in Deadly April 2013 DUI Crash

A Warrenville man who pleaded guilty to aggravated drunken driving in an April 2013 crash that killed a Warrenville woman was sentenced to six years in prison on  Wednesday, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said.

Judge Blanche Hill Fawell sentenced Karlos Leath, 32, of 29W538 Country Ridge Drive, Warrenville, to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the April 25, 2013 crash killed his passenger, Stephanie Pickett, also of Warrenville.

According to a release from from Berlin’s office, Leath pleaded guilty Oct. 18, 2013 to aggravated drunken driving involving a death, a Class 2 felony. He made the plea before Judge Fawell. Leath must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Authorities said that at about 10:32 p.m. on April 25, 2013, Leath was driving south on Schaffner Road in Winfield when he lost control of the vehicle approaching  Mack Road. The vehicle swerved off the road and crashed into trees on the north side of Mack Road.

Pickett, who suffered massive head trauma and other injuries in the crash, was taken to a local hospital where she died. Leath also was hospitalized for minor injuries. Leath had a blood alcohol content of 0.135 at the time of the crash.

Authorities arrested Leath the next day on two counts of aggravated DUI involving death, and bail was set at $1 million.

“On April 25, 2013, Karlos Leath made the conscious decision to get behind the wheel after he had been drinking,” Berlin said in the release. “That decision proved to be fatal for his passenger, Stephanie Pickett, an 18-year-old girl with her whole life ahead of her. Our hearts go out to her family and friends as they now adjust to life without Stephanie.

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every day in America, 28 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes,” Berlin continued. “The attitude of ‘I’m OK to drive’ has got to stop.”

Berlin thanked the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office for its police work in this case, as well as Assistant State’s Attorneys Jim Scaliatine and Deborah Brewer for their efforts prosecuting the case against Leath.