Sycamore man charged with reckless homicide in 2021 fatal crash of Belvidere man

SYCAMORE - A Sycamore man is accused of reckless homicide in a fatal April 2021 crash that killed a 63-year-old Belvidere man, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

DeWitt Shufelt, 61, of Sycamore was arrested by DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies Wednesday, Boone County Sheriff’s officials said. Shufelt is charged with reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Shufelt faces up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $25,000.

Shufelt was released from DeKalb County Jail, where he was being held on a $75,000 bond, after posting $7,500, Boone County Sheriff officials said Thursday.

Sheriff’s deputies said that on April 14, 2021, Shufelt was driving on Genoa Road in Boone County and passed another car going southbound. Police said he was driving “at a speed greater than was reasonable and proper,” according to the release.

Shufelt put on the breaks in his car abruptly, police allege, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle and cross the center line on Genoa Road. Shufelt’s car crashed into another vehicle going northbound. The vehicle’s driver, 63-year-old Robert Hall of Belvidere, died in the crash.

In the year since the crash, Boone County Sheriff’s deputies conducted an investigation with the Boone County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to the release. Shufelt was indicted Tuesday, a day before his arrest, and will face criminal court proceedings in Boone County.