Crystal Lake woman sentenced to prison for fatal 2019 DUI hit-and-run

A Crystal Lake woman was sentenced to prison Thursday for a 2019 drunken-driving, hit-and-run crash that killed an Algonquin motorcyclist and seriously injured his wife.

Deborah Klinger cried silently Thursday as a Crystal Lake police officer recalled the details of the Sept. 10, 2019, crash that killed her “best friend” and “the love of [her] life,” George Klinger. Feet away, the driver at fault, 54-year-old Carolyn Tyrrell, wiped away her own tears as she viewed photos from the scene and awaited her prison sentence for the fatal crash.

McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt sentenced Tyrrell to nine years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. Tyrrell is required to serve at least 85% of the sentence in accordance with Illinois truth-in-sentencing laws.

“You took the love of my life away in the blink of an eye,” Deborah Klinger told Tyrrell through tears.

Dressed in orange McHenry County jail scrubs, Tyrrell offered an apology to the Klinger family before accepting her sentence Thursday.

“I am so sorry for my actions ...” Tyrrell said. “I feel great remorse.”

Tyrrell entered a blind guilty plea on March 9 to a single count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors, in turn, dismissed several remaining charges, including failure to report a fatal accident. Because the crash resulted in a death, Tyrrell faced between three and 14 years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence.

The crash occurred on Sept. 10, 2019, near the intersection of Virginia Road and Berkshire Drive in Crystal Lake. The Klingers were driving home from a dinner date when Tyrrell’s red sedan collided with George Klinger’s motorcycle, court records show.

George Klinger was traveling south on Virginia Road when he approached a green light and entered the intersection at Berkshire Drive. At that same time, Tyrrell was simultaneously driving her car north toward the intersection and struck the Klingers’ motorcycle while trying to turn left from Virginia Road onto Berkshire Drive, court records show.

Several witnesses saw Tyrrell flee the area with a flat tire and missing bumper.

“She chose to continue her day as if nothing had happened,” George Klinger’s sister, Jeanette Boehmer, said in court Thursday.

The crash ejected Deborah Klinger from the motorcycle and caused her to be flown to the hospital for treatment of several injuries. George Klinger was taken to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, where he later died.

“I was being airlifted while my husband was dying, and I was not there with him,” Deborah Klinger said in court Thursday.

Witnesses led officers to Tyrrell’s bumper and attached license plate blocks away from the crash and arrested her at her home within a half-hour. Blood and breath tests performed afterward showed that Tyrrell’s blood-alcohol content was likely 0.20 at the time of the crash, Crystal Lake Police Detective Jeffrey Mattson testified Thursday.

The detective also said Tyrrell admitted to leaving the scene and drinking a beer when she arrived back at home. Before police arrived at her Wesley Drive home, Tyrrell called several people, most of whom urged her to turn herself in, Mattson said.

The September 2019 crash wasn’t Tyrrell’s first DUI arrest. She previously was sentenced to one year of court supervision for a 1998 DUI charge out of Crystal Lake, court records show.

Since her most recent arrest, however, Tyrrell has achieved and maintained sobriety, the woman’s mother and daughter testified.

“We are so sorry, and I know she will never forgive herself,” said Tyrrell’s mother, Patricia Johns.

Tyrrell’s attorney, Daniel Hoffman, said Thursday he planned to write a letter to the Illinois Department of Corrections to recommend that Tyrrell be used as a “resource” for other detainees. While out on bond, Tyrrell participated in the McHenry County Workforce Network and devised a plan to help other incarcerated people both during and after her sentence, business services representative Thomas Faber said.

“It wasn’t just a job for her,” Faber said. “I saw her going out of her way to help others.”

While Tyrrell is preparing for her future after prison, Deborah Klinger is leaving behind parts of the life that she and her husband built together. Injuries from the crash limited Deborah Klinger’s ability to work, and the cost of her continued medical treatment has driven her out of the home where she and her husband lived for more than 20 years, she said.

“I wish I could just wake up from this nightmare,” Deborah Klinger said.

She described George Klinger as a “beautiful soul” who loved tending to the lawn, working on cars and motorcycles, and camping. He is survived by his father, son, daughter, sisters and extended family, according to an obituary.

Deborah Klinger has taken further legal action by suing Coleman’s Crystal Lake Inc., alleging that the bar and grill over-served Tyrrell the evening of the crash.

“[George] made me feel safe,” Deborah Klinger told Tyrrell Thursday. “I trusted him with my life. You stole this from us.”