Cook County Worker Gets 100 Days In Jail For Fatally Striking Bicyclist
A Cook County hospital administrator was sentenced to 100 days in jail for striking and killing a bicyclist while driving drunk two years ago near Douglas Park on the West Side.
Robert Vais, 56, pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence causing a death on Sept. 16, according to Cook County court records. Judge Nicholas Fords sentenced him to 100 days in the Cook County Jail on Nov. 17.
Hector Avalos, 28, was riding his bike home from his restaurant job in River North on the night of Dec. 7, 2013, when he was struck by Vais vehicle, a white 2002 Ford Windstar, in the 2500 block of West Ogden, authorities said at the time. Vais' blood alcohol content registered .118 after the crash.
When police arrived around midnight, they said Vais approached them and said, "I was the driver of that van over there. I hit him. Is he OK?"
Avalos, a former Marine who lived in the 1800 block of West Cermak, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died early the next morning, authorities said.
According to court records, Vais worked in the finance department of the Cook County hospital system.
Vais, of Riverside, was booked into the jail Monday, according to jail records. He must serve two years of probation after his release.
