Plano woman sentenced to 5 years in prison after 2019 fatal DUI crash

SYCAMORE - A Plano woman was sentenced recently to five years in prison after a DeKalb County judge accepted her guilty plea following a 2019 fatal crash which took the life of a Sandwich man while Jensen drove under the influence of alcohol.

Autumn M. Jensen, 23, of the 600 block of Terrace Way in Plano, was sentenced Oct. 28 by DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery after she pleaded guilty in August to aggravated DUI causing a death, which is a class 2 felony. Jensen was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a news release from the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The crash killed a passenger, Bradley A. Baumann, 44, of Sandwich, in the car Jensen was driving while intoxicated, prosecutors said.

In a statement, DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Suzanne Collins and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation into the fatal crash.

“Every DUI fatality is preventable, every DUI crash is preventable,” Amato said. “All it takes is the use of common sense. Ms. Jensen’s failure to exercise better judgment two years ago ended in tragedy.”

Amato said Baumann was “a very loved son, brother, uncle and friend.”

“Those who knew him loved him, and they continue to grapple with the defendant’s senseless and reckless choice that took his life,” Amato said. “I hope this sentence can begin to give them peace as they continue to cope with their loss.”

Montgomery also ordered Jensen to pay $2,159 in fees, according to DeKalb County court records.

During her sentencing, prosecutors said that around 9 p.m. on July 9, 2019, Jensen was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Sedan eastbound on Suydam Road near Somonauk Road when the car veered off the road and rolled, ejecting Baumann, who was later pronounced dead at Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital. Police said at the time Baumann was not wearing a seatbelt.

During the investigation, police said they could smell “a strong odor of alcohol” on Jensen’s breath, the release states. Police said Jensen also had glassy eyes, slurred speech and had difficulty walking and maintaining her balance.

Prosecutors said that Jensen told police she had been drinking alcohol and was using her cellphone before the crash. She refused to submit to a blood-alcohol concentration test, prosecutors said. A blood test taken three hours after the crash reported that her blood-alcohol level was 0.212%.

The legal limit for blood-alcohol level is 0.08%.

According to Illinois law, Jensen must serve at least 85% of her prison sentence, and will receive credit for the two days she spent in DeKalb County Jail, according to the state’s attorney’s office.



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