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Barrington Hills Man Pleads Guilty To Fatal Drunk Driving Crash

BARRINGTON HILLS, Ill. (STMW) -- A Barrington Hills man has pleaded guilty to a northwest suburban DUI crash that killed an Elgin man and injured two other people in March 2013.

Karsten Eilertsen, 19, entered a blind plea of guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI for the March 3, 2013, crash in Barrington Hills. His Chevrolet Suburban was traveling north on Route 59 about 3 p.m. when it sideswiped a southbound Toyota just south of Route 68, according to police.

The driver of the Toyota, a 57-year-old woman, was injured, police said.

Eilertsen's vehicle then hit a Dodge Intrepid head-on, killing the driver, 61-year-old Ronald Ziolo, of Elgin, according to police. A passenger in Ziolo's car, a 44-year-old woman from Orlando, Fla., was treated at St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates, but continues to experience problems with a foot injury, police said.

Barrington Hills police investigated the case with assistance from the Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County. Marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a prescription bottle for Adderall were found in Eilertsen's vehicle, police said.

The blind plea means that attorneys from each side agreed to let a judge determine Eilertsen's sentence on Aug. 7, according to a spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office. The two sides could not agree to a sentence as part of the plea, the spokesman explained.

He faces a potential sentence of three to 14 years in prison for a charge of aggravated DUI causing death, and one to 12 years for a charge of aggravated DUI causing bodily harm.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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