4 Years In Prison For Snowplow Truck Driver Found Driving Drunk In Woodstock

By Sam Borcia, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner:

A 37-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison for driving drunk while in control of a snowplow truck last year in Woodstock. It is his fifth DUI conviction.

Robert Smith, 37, of the 1400 block of Indian Lane in Carpentersville, was indicted on two counts of aggravated driving under the influence and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol while license suspended or revoked.

Smith was arrested on January 18, 2020, by officers with the Woodstock Police Department.

Officers received a call around 11:30 p.m. that day for a report of a person driving while intoxicated.

Officers found Smith in control of a snowplow truck. He displayed signs of heavy intoxication, prosecutors said.

An investigation led to evidence showing that Smith’s blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, prosecutors said.

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He was also driving on a revoked license, court records show.

Smith accepted a plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office where he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 1 felony. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed his other charges.

McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge accepted the plea deal on Thursday and sentenced Smith to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Court records show that this conviction is Smith’s fifth driving under the influence case.

The previous convictions took place in Kane County in 2004, 2006, and 2013, and one in Sauk County, Wisconsin in 2006.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.