A Naperville man was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for a 2021 DUI crash that killed three people.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced yesterday that Brendan Wydajewski, 24, appeared in court yesterday morning in front of Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh, who accepted Wydajewski’s guilty plea to three counts of Aggravated DUI Causing Death, a Class 2 Felony, and sentenced him to eighteen years in prison.
On October 30, 2021, at approximately 1:18am, Lisle police officers responded to a call of a crash at the intersection of Warrenville Road and Corporate West Drive. Upon their arrival, officers observed two vehicles, one of which was cut in half, with the driver’s side of the vehicle located in the road and the other half located off the road to the north.
Officers found one person inside the vehicle who was identified as Andrew Purtill, 46. Mr. Purtill was pronounced deceased at the scene. In the second vehicle, driven by Wydajewski, officers found two other individuals, Graciela Leanos, 21 and Geovanny Alvarez, 22. Alvarez was pronounced deceased at the scene. Leanos was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased later that evening. Wydajewski was found on the ground near the driver’s side of his vehicle seriously injured. He was transported to a local hospital for medical attention and was released on November 28, 2021.
An investigation into the crash determined that Wydajewski was driving his vehicle at approximately 122 mph westbound on Warrenville Road when he crashed into a vehicle driven by Mr. Purtill. The investigation also found that Wydajewski’s BAC was .147 when he was transported to the hospital for medical attention.
“Like all DUI cases, the case against Mr. Wydajewski was 100% avoidable,” Berlin said. “Because of Mr. Wydajewski’s reckless actions, the lives of Andrew Purtill, Graciela Leanos and Geovanny Alvarez have been reduced to a statistic and a tragic reminder of the deadly consequences of drinking and driving. As I have said countless times in the past, if you have been drinking, do not drive. Don’t allow yourself to become a statistic.”
Wydajewski will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
