Daily Herald 8-16-05
Driver gets 18 years for fatal crash
Judge: Rehabilitation doesn't cover irresponsibility
By Christy Gutowski
Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The two motorists led sharply contrasting lives when their paths tragically
crossed at the Naperville intersection. In one car, Mark Schoger was high on
crack cocaine when he sped through a red light without a license and with faulty
brakes. The other man, Gregory Vasich, who graduated from college months
earlier, prepared for an out-of-state move with his childhood sweetheart and law
school. He didn’t get the chance. Their worlds collided April 9, 2004, killing
23-year-old Vasich and scaring Schoger straight.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday during an emotional court hearing
in which he pledged to Vasich’s family to turn around his troubled life.
Schoger, 42, said he will live with his guilt forever.
“There is not one day that goes by that I have not thought about the loss of
Greg,” said Schoger, at times crying so uncontrollably that he could not speak.
“I would do anything to change the results of the accident, but all I can do is
lead a decent life to try to atone for my actions.”
Schoger, homeless and living in his car, racked up 24 crimes
since 1981 to support his addiction. Three of them were felonies. His 23 driving
infractions included a prior DUI. Days before the crash, on April 4, 2004,
police arrested him for driving without a license. He has been in jail since the
fatal crash. A sober Schoger has taken part in extensive religion classes and
addiction classes to better himself. His supporters, including his sister,
father and friends, said his rehabilitation and regret is sincere.
He faced either probation or six to 28 years in prison for reckless homicide,
aggravated DUI and fleeing.
Prosecutors Michael Reidy and Tom O’Connor sought the maximum
sentence. They argued Schoger earned it. Elizabeth Reed, a senior assistant
public defender, described a 28-year punishment as “revenge,” and not reflective
of the defendant’s efforts to rehabilitate. She asked for a six-year term.
Sorting through the wreckage, DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson said he
recognized Schoger’s efforts to better himself, but a harsh punishment is
necessary to deter others and to hold the defendant responsible for the
devastation he caused.
“Greg Vasich is dead,” the judge said. “Mr. Schoger, it’s your responsibility.
You made irresponsible choices.”
Vasich, of Naperville, was a honors graduate from the University of Illinois,
where he played trombone in the Illini Marching Band. The draftsman planned to
move to St. Paul, Minn. He loved the Chicago Cubs and the cinema. His parents,
Milton and Carol Vasich, described him as a hero and mentor to three little
brothers in their close-knit family. His longtime girlfriend, Jennifer
Ketchmark, remembered his humor, intelligence and kindness.
“He was the love of my life and my best friend,” she said through tears. “He was everything to me. We were going to spend forever together.”
Vasich was traveling south on Naper Boulevard when his
Pontiac Bonneville was struck at the intersection with 75th Street by a
westbound 1992 Mercury Topaz driven by Schoger. Schoger fled, leaving behind a
passenger, but police found him 10 hours later. He tested positive for cocaine.
At issue during the trial was how much crack cocaine Schoger smoked and if he
had been too impaired to drive. Experts offered differing opinions, but the
judge found the testimony of a prosecution witness the most reliable.
Schoger faced the stiff sentence based on “Candace’s Law,” which Reidy helped
write, out of the 1999 death of 18-year-old Candace Wesolowski of Burr Ridge who
died in a hit-and-run crash in Downers Grove.