URBANA, Ill. (WAND) – A man who was driving drunk when he struck a bicyclist in Urbana must serve jail time, home detention and probation.
Mitchell J. Snodgrass, 23, of Savoy struck Jonathon Parrish at about 8:10 p.m. April 22 in the 1600 block of High Cross Road. Parrish, who was third in a line of bicyclists moving single file on that street, suffered a number of injuries. He spent three weeks in the hospital with separated shoulders, damage to his face and scalp and broken teeth, The News-Gazette said. Chronic back pain is a problem for Parrish, he wears braces on his teeth at this point and he is unable to play pickup basketball like he used to.
Snodgrass fled the scene of that crash and, when state troopers caught up with him at his Savoy home, he said he “panicked” in the aftermath of the collision. His alcohol level was measured later on at 0.14 – a number above the state legal limit of 0.08.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated driving under the influence in a deal that saw a charge of of leaving the scene of an injury accident and a second aggravated DUI count dropped. He must spend three weeks in the county jail starting on Oct. 1, then spend 159 days on electronic home detention and keep on a SCAM device, which will let authorities know if he drinks alcohol. Drinking would violate terms of his probation.
Snodgrass will also be on probation for 30 months. As part of it, he must take part in 200 public service hours and pay over $5,400 in fines and other costs, the newspaper said.
Parrish said in court he did not think prison time was necessary for Snodgrass, but did tell him he hopes he will remember that “last time was a disaster” if he thinks about drinking again.
