10 Years For 5 Lives: Trucker Gets Decade in Prison For Fatal Crash

JOLIET, IL — A trucker who killed five people when he crashed his rig on Interstate 55 near Channahon was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday.

Francisco Espinal-Quiroz, 53, of Leesburg, Indiana, had pleaded guilty in November to five counts of reckless homicide and one count of falsifying the record of his driving status.

Espinal-Quiroz was driving a red Freightliner north on I-55 near Channahon in July 2014 when he entered a construction zone that had slowed traffic to a crawl. Espinal-Quiroz’s cruise control had him going 65 mph and he crashed into the back of a Kia Soul occupied by Kimberly Britton, 43, Piper Britton, 11, and Timothy Osburn, 64. Piper and Kimberly Britton were killed instantly. Osburn was airlifted to a Chicago hospital and died there 16 days later.

A passenger in a Chevy Astrovan, 48-year-old Ulrike Blopeh, was also killed in the crash, as was Vicky Palacios, 54, who was in a Dodge Avenger. Espinal-Quiroz’s tractor-trailer had slammed into both vehicles.

“This terrible crash claimed the lives of five innocent people, including a young girl, and injured several others,” said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. “The victim impact statements presented in court at sentencing conveyed the heartbreaking loss family members experienced when this wreck tore their loved ones from their lives. Our hearts go out to all of the victims and families who are struggling with their profound grief.”

Glasgow “thanked the Illinois State Police and Assistant State’s Attorneys Derek Ewanic and Adam Capelli for their work to bring justice to family members during the investigation and prosecution of this case,” according to a statement released by his office.

On the day of the fatal wreck, Espinal-Quiroz started out at 2:30 a.m., picking up steel at a warehouse in South Bend, Indiana. But Espinal-Quiroz had actually falsified his logbook, putting down that he did not begin until four hours after that.

“Espinal-Quiroz also is blind in his right eye, but he had a waiver to drive a truck through the state of Indiana,” according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Francisco Espinal-Quiroz | image via Will County Sheriff's Department