March 09--An Aurora woman will be released from prison as soon as Wednesday after a judge resentenced her to probation for a crash in 2009 that killed a St. Charles couple riding their motorcycle.
Alia Bernard, 31, embraced her mother Wednesday as she left the Kane County courtroom of Judge David Kliment, who sentenced her to four years of probation and 400 hours of community service.
Kliment's decision spared Bernard of at least another year in prison. She had been sentenced by another judge to seven years in 2012 but would have been eligible for parole in March 2017.
The judge cited the "extraordinary circumstances" of the case. Bernard had marijuana in her system, but prosecutors admitted she was not impaired. Still, they argued state law allowed her to be charged with aggravated DUI.
Kliment, who took over the case after the original judge retired, said Bernard's use of marijuana was not a factor in the deaths of the Thomases.
"The criminal act (of using marijuana) played no role in the cause of the accident," Kliment said.
But the judge still had strong words for Bernard.
"So you're going to get out of prison today, Ms. Bernard, but you are not going to be free," he said.
Kliment admonished Bernard that he would closely monitor her case to ensure she meets the terms of her probation.
Where and when she would be released was still unclear Wednesday as Illinois Department of Corrections officials and local law enforcement were figuring out the details.
The resentencing of Bernard, who has spent four years in prison, marked the latest turn in an unusual case that began on a bright Saturday in May 2009. On that morning, Bernard was going south on Illinois Highway 47 near Batavia when she rear-ended the last of three cars that were stopped in the road because the first car was waiting to turn left.
The car had yielded as a group of several dozen motorcyclists passed in the oncoming lane. But the force of the collision from Bernard's car pushed the first car into the path of the cyclists. Wade and Denise Thomas struck the car with their motorcycle and died, and several other riders suffered serious injuries.
Tests showed Bernard had marijuana in her system. She said she used the drug two days before the crash. However, she was charged under the state law that says anyone can be charged with aggravated DUI for any amount of drugs in their system.
Bernard pleaded guilty and said at sentencing that she was reaching for her sunglasses in the moments before the crash.
She faced a six- to 28-year sentence. Her original attorney sought probation, pointing to statutory language that says violators can receive probation in "extraordinary circumstances." But the judge sentenced Bernard to seven years in prison.
Attorney Don Ramsell, who took on Bernard's case last year, had argued last month that the judge should reconsider her sentence.
"It was a gutsy decision, but the right call," Ramsell said after the hearing. "This is how justice is supposed to work."
Ramsell called the DUI statute under which Bernard was charged one of the "worst and most draconian laws in the nation." There have been some legislative attempts to modify it since Bernard's case, though nothing has become law.
Wade and Denise Thomas, who were both in their mid-40s, had been married about a year when they died. It was the second marriage for both, and between them, they were the parents of nine children.
Vivian Thomas, Wade's mother, was in court Wednesday, as she has been regularly since 2009.
"We have to accept it for what it is and move on," she said of the judge's ruling. "I still lost my son. (Bernard's mother) still has her daughter."
Thomas spoke about how the lives of her son and family had changed in an instant.
"If it had been a split-second later, he probably wouldn't have been involved," she said.
Kane County State's Attorney Joseph McMahon said he respected Kliment's decision in a case that "has been going on for a long time."
"There's not a real deep body of case law on this issue," McMahon said. "Judge Kliment put a lot of time and research into ... (a) thoughtful, well-reasoned decision."
McMahon emphasized the new sentence doesn't change the fact Bernard pleaded guilty. He noted the law that allows prosecutors to cite a drug, such as marijuana, as a proximate cause to a crash remains in place.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. Aurora Beacon-News freelance reporter Dan Campana contributed.
