Repeat Speeding Offender Gets Six Month Sentence in Fatal Crash

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Law

The Chicago Tribune reports that the driver in the fatal car crash that killed seventeen year old Julie Gorczynski has been sentenced to six months behind bars. The case gained national attention when its proceedings prompted harsher penalties for speeders in Illinois. “Julie’s Law” went into effect on July 1, 2012.

The fatal accident that took place last year was one in a long line of speeding offences for the driver. He is reported to have been travelling at a speed that was 36mph over the maximum speed allowed. His crashed his Mazda into a Jeep in which Julie was the passenger.

Marszalek had seven prior occurrences of speeding on his driving record at the time of the accident. Had a few of those been given stiffer penalties, he may not have been legally allowed to drive at the time of the accident, possibly keeping him off the road. The accident may have been avoided.

Upon learning the current laws governing punishments for speeding offenders, Julie’s parents fought for increased penalties for repeat offenders. Their diligence resulted in the passage of “Julie’s Law”, which prohibits judges from assigning probation to drivers travelling over 30mph (highway) and 25 mph (non-rural road).

Convicted driver, Lucasz Marszalek, is reported to have shown no remorse throughout the hearing. Julie’s family and friends attended the hearing in a show of support for Julie and her parents. Illinois has some of the busiest roadways in the United States and Chicago drivers have been infamously named as some of the worse in the country.

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