MORRISON – The driver accused of hitting and killing pedestrian on Jan. 23 on First Avenue Bridge had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit, according to information proffered by the prosecution at his bond reduction hearing.

Wayne A. Witt Jr., 46, of Sterling, a sergeant on staff at Dixon Correctional Center, blew a .171 BAC, Whiteside County Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Simon said in information offered to support his request that the judge neither reduce Witt’s $250,000 bond or release him on his own recognizance.

Witt, who was staggering, slurring his speech and had other signs of intoxication, failed field sobriety tests and told Deputy Brennan Coward, who responded to the crash, that he’d been drinking in the hour and a half before colliding with a parked squad car, Simon told Judge Stanley Steines on Tuesday.

Sterling Police officer Travis Nease was parked in the southbound lane of the bridge, just south of Wallace Street, emergency lights activated. He was standing by the rear of the car talking with Drew A. Barger, who had been reported walking down the middle of the road, when Witt’s northbound pickup crossed the center line, striking Nease, then the squad car, then Barger.

Barger, 35, was dragged under Witt’s pickup, which hit the bridge’s center support; he died at the scene. Nease was treated at CGH Medical Center and released.

In addition, a snowplow driver saw Witt driving in the wrong lane; he was heading straight for the plow before swerving back into his own lane, Simon said.

Simon relayed what Witt told investigators that morning, saying that he believed his drinking affected his ability to stop his truck. Simon said that Witt also said: “I take full responsibility for my actions.”

“At the end of the day, Mr. Witt’s actions and decisions caused the death of Mr. Barger,” he said.

Witt’s private attorney, Chris Humphrey of Loves Park, reminded the court that Witt cooperated that night by submitting to blood and urine tests, but he had yet to receive the results of the blood test.

He told the court there is a question as to what the proximate cause of Barger’s death is. He did not elaborate.

The proximate cause is the legal reason determined to have caused death or injury.

In his petition to rescind the statutorily required suspension of Witt’s driver’s license, which was not heard Tuesday, Humphrey stated, among other things, that a “test sample of the defendant’s blood alcohol concentration did not indicate a [BAC] of .08 or more.”

Tuesday, after both sides questioned Witt and his fiance, Jena Pilling of Polo, about their employment, financial and family backgrounds, Humphrey noted that Witt has strong ties to the area, a negligible criminal history, and friends and family who said they could raise $5,000 to $7,000 to bail him out of jail.

“This is obviously a tragic set of circumstances we’re working with right now, but there’s nothing to indicate he’s a threat to the community,” Humphrey said.

In the end, Steines decided that given the serious nature of the criminal charges – Witt is charged with two counts of aggravated DUI resulting in injury or death, which carries 3 to 14 years in prison – and the information proffered, “a recognizance bond is not responsible.”

Taking everything offered into account, including the snowplow driver and Witt’s own statements that night, and balancing that with, among other things, his roots in the community, his cooperation with investigators and his low-flight risk, Steines said he would reduce his bond to $100,000.

That means Witt must raise $10,000 to be released from Whiteside County jail. If he is released, he cannot consume alcohol or marijuana, and can have a gun only if required within the scope of his employment, Steines said.

Because no evidence was provided of any history of “substance abuse issues,” he said he would not require Witt to wear a either a GIS or an alcohol monitoring device.

For now, Witt is on administrative leave from the Dixon prison, and is not sure yet if he will be allowed to return to work while his case proceeds, he testified. He has worked there nearly eight years, he said.

The hearing on the petition to rescind Witt’s license suspension was rescheduled for March 22, to give Humphrey time to review items of discovery he received that morning from the prosecution.

Witt has a pretrial conference March 30.

As is standard procedure, because the crash involved a Sterling police officer, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department took the lead in the investigation to avoid a possible conflict of interest.