The driver in a crash that sent 12 people to area hospitals on Sept. 16, 2009, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tazewell County’s Tenth Judicial Circuit Court to driving under the influence and causing great bodily harm to others.
Jesse A. Horn, 23, of 119 E. Hazelwood St., Morton, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs resulting in an accident causing great bodily harm, and one count of driving with a revoked license, all Class 4 felonies.
One count of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, and one count of aggravated driving under the influence and causing great bodily harm, were dismissed.
The accident occurred at 5:14 p.m. Sept. 16 near the intersection of Route 150 and Durant Street, east of Morton. Horn was coming home from the Morton Pumpkin Festival. According to the accident report, witnesses told officers that Horn was driving east on U.S. Route 150 at a high rate of speed, passing multiple vehicles in a no-passing zone.
Horn’s driver’s license had been suspended for a previous DUI.
Witnesses said that Horn was driving eastbound in the westbound lane when he encountered a Toyota truck waiting to turn onto Durant Street.
As Horn was trying to get back into the eastbound lane and a Jeep was coming toward him in the westbound lane, the front of Horn’s vehicle hit the Toyota and the back of his vehicle hit the Jeep, which went into a spin and ended up in a cornfield on the south side of Route 150.
According to court records, injuries to some of the victims were serious. One man’s arm was broken in three places and required surgery to install pins to repair it. Another victim suffered rib and vertebrae fractures.
Horn’s blood alcohol content at the time of the accident was .327, more than four times the legal limit to drive in Illinois, court records said, and testing also showed that Horn had cannabis in his system.
Horn was remanded to the custody of the Tazewell County Justice Center. He is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on May 28 at 3 p.m.
