Sandwich woman sentenced to 5 years for fatal 2020 DUI crash

SYCAMORE – A Sandwich woman was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after she pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and causing a 2020 three-vehicle crash that killed a Plano man.

Britnie K. Arend, 33, of Sandwich waived her right to a jury trial and instead pleaded guilty Oct. 25 to aggravated DUI causing a death in the crash which killed Gary J. Schmidt, of Plano.

She had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges Feb. 5, 2021, according to DeKalb County court records.

Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery accepted Arend’s plea in October. On Monday he sentenced her to five years in prison. She will need to serve 85% of that sentence.

Arend had been out of jail since Dec. 17, 2020, when she was released on a $10,000 recognizance bond.

She was taken back into custody following her guilty plea in October, court records show.

Arend was represented by defense attorney Chip Criswell of the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office. Scott Schwertley of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office led the prosecution.

During Monday’s hearing, loved ones of Schmidt provided testimony about the impact of Arend’s actions on their loss, prosecutors said.

Schmidt was killed when the vehicle he was driving was struck head on by Arend’s vehicle on Oct. 13, 2020.

According to the initial crash report, Arend was driving south on East Sandwich Road, south of Chicago Road in Sandwich, and crossed the center line into the northbound lane, sidesweeping a rental box truck driven by Christopher K. Jason, 36, of Sandwich. The vehicle driven by Arend continued into the northbound lane, striking Schmidt’s vehicle.

Arend also was injured in the crash, and was flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

Initial charges for Arend included 19 counts of aggravated DUI causing death and reckless homicide, both felonies, with a sentencing range of three to seven years if convicted.

She was arrested Dec. 17, 2020 at her Sandwich home following a police investigation which revealed a blood toxicology analysis of Arend’s blood showed several controlled substances were in her system on the day of the crash.

Prosecutors previously said the toxicology report showed at the time of the crash that Arend had ketamine, amphetamine, methadone, alprazolam and diazepam, among others, in her blood. Prosecutors said Arend told police the drugs in her system were prescribed by her physician.