A former La Salle woman avoided prison Friday for leaving the scene of a 2023 crash that injured an elderly motorist.

Lauren N. Finnell, 34, now a resident of Indiana, appeared Friday for sentencing in La Salle County Circuit Court.

She had entered a blind plea to leaving the scene of an accident with injury, a Class 4 felony carrying up to three years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to seek a prison sentence of no more than 18 months.

When offered a chance to speak, Finnell said the accident happened because her brakes failed – “I was not drunk or under the influence of anything,” she insisted – and that she left the scene because she panicked.

Finnell further told the court she did use her On-Star service to send for an ambulance for the injured motorist and did, the next day, call the La Salle Police Department to say she was involved in the crash.

“For that I’m truly sorry,” she said, “and I wish the accident had never happened.”

La Salle County Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni did not acknowledge or reference Finnell’s statement, but she did zero in on Finnell’s limited criminal history. Save for a 15-year-old misdemeanor, Finnell’s record was comprised only of traffic offenses.

Vescogni further noted the law says the court “shall” opt for probation. The judge considered that language binding and sentenced Finnell to 30 months’ felony probation plus 20 weekends in La Salle County Jail.

Finnell was immediately led away to begin serving her first weekend.

Police said they were dispatched at 3:40 p.m. May 19, 2023, to Second and Hennepin streets in La Salle. There, an elderly motorist was extricated from an overturned vehicle and then flown to Peoria, where she was treated and released.

Despite Finnell’s claims to have belatedly reported the accident, she wasn’t charged until June 3, 2024, following a year-long investigation into the crash.

Friday, Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Laura Hall asked to have Finnell sentenced to 1½ years in prison, citing the extent of the injuries to the victim.

The victim spent seven months in a hospital, five months in a bed and now uses a cane and regimen of medication to manage her pain and disability.

“She missed moments with her family that she’ll never get back,” Hall said.

In response, Morris’s defense attorney Matt Mueller cautioned Vescogni against directly linking Finnell’s offense with the injuries. The victim may have been injured in the crash, he allowed, but Finnell committed the offense after the injuries were sustained.

“This court needs to be really careful about conflating these things and sentencing her for the crash,” Mueller said. “This is a felony because she left the scene. To conflate those two is a problem.”

Vescogni agreed with the defense’s reasoning.

“Let’s just take it for what it is: it was an accident,” the judge ruled. “At the time she left the scene, the injuries had already occurred. That’s not to say she isn’t guilty of an offense. That’s not to say she shouldn’t have stayed there. But the injuries had already occurred.”