(The following article by Jo Napolitano was posted on the Chicago Tribune website on September 23.)
CHICAGO — The truck driver at the center of a 1999 Amtrak derailment outside Bourbonnais that left 11 people dead and 121 injured was portrayed by a prosecutor Wednesday as a “tired, greedy, inattentive, negligent truck driver.”
John R. Stokes, driver of the semitrailer that collided with the Amtrak train, will have to wait until Tuesday to be sentenced on his convictions for driving too long and failing to keep an accurate logbook.
Stokes was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday, but after listening to hours of testimony from both sides, Kankakee County Judge Clark Erickson said he needed more time to review the evidence.
Assistant Atty. Gen. Bill Elward argued the deaths and injuries that resulted from the derailment should play a role in Stokes’ sentencing.
He said that while Stokes may not be the sole cause of the collision–the gates and warning lights at the intersection where the accident occurred may not have been working properly at the time–he was a contributing factor and should be punished for his decision to drive while tired.
“That bad judgment in this case had horrific consequences,” Elward said. “There has been no showing of remorse by this defendant. It’s everybody’s fault but his.”
But defense attorney Leonard Sacks argued his client should not be sentenced for anything other than the crimes for which he was convicted and that because Stokes was not charged with vehicular homicide, the deaths and injuries resulting from the accident should not factor into his sentencing.
“The fact is, Stokes didn’t cause the collision,” he said. “This is a traffic offense no matter how you color it.”
Sacks said Stokes, 64, suffers from a variety of medical problems including diabetes, and that he should not serve jail time because he is not a danger to society. Stokes could receive from probation or 1 to 3 years behind bars.
“Is it necessary to protect the public from John Stokes?” Sacks said. “What are we going to get out of this? A pound of flesh?”
Stokes spoke briefly during a court break, saying he hoped for probation and that he was disappointed to see coroners’ reports entered into his sentencing hearing.
“This was a logbook violation,” he said. “That was it.”