BREAKING: Aurora woman convicted of DUI, reckless homicide in Oswego crash that killed five teens enters work release program

An Aurora woman convicted on charges of aggravated drunk driving and reckless homicide in a 2007 crash in Oswego that claimed the lives of five teenagers was released from state prison July 28 and placed in a work release program, the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office has confirmed.

A Kendall County judge sentenced Sandra Vasquez, 37, to 15 years in state prison, plus two years of mandatory supervised release in August 2010 for her role in the crash.

Vasquez had been serving her sentence at the Decatur Correctional Center in Decatur, according to Illinois Department of Corrections data.

According to police reports, Vasquez was giving a ride to eight teenage passengers in her five-passenger Infiniti sedan early in the morning of Feb. 11, 2007, when the vehicle slammed into a utility pole along the east side of Route 31 near River Run Boulevard.

Killed instantly in the crash were Matthew Frank, 17, Tiffany Urso, 16, Jessica Nutoni, 15, and Katherine “Katie” Merkel, 14. James McGee, 14, was severely injured in the accident and was hospitalized, but died from his injuries one week after the crash. Three other teen passengers, all seated in the backseat of the car, survived the crash with injuries. All of the passengers were students at Oswego High School at the time.

According to testimony given at the trial and information available following the crash, Vasquez and the teens were coming from a party hosted by one of her cousins at a home in the unincorporated Boulder Hill subdivision owned by Vasquez’s aunt.

Vasquez claimed that she had dropped her sister off at the Boulder Hill home earlier that evening, and had visited another relative who lived nearby when her sister later called her and asked for a ride. Vasquez claimed that she received another call from her sister telling her that she was being hassled by another woman at the party, and that she went into the home to help her sister.

Vasquez claimed that one of the passengers in the car asked her for a ride, and that others piled into her car, also wanting a ride.

Vasquez admitted to drinking beer and Jägermeister at her relative’s home prior to going to her aunt’s home. Her blood alcohol level was measured at .124 following the crash, above the legal limit of .08.