DeKalb woman in fight that went viral sentenced to 2 years in prison

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb woman who was the aggressor in an October 2017 fight near the intersection of Peace Road and DeKalb Avenue has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Susanna Mendenhall, 44, of the 900 block of Ridge Drive, achieved notoriety after she was captured on a widely shared video fighting with another woman in the busy intersection as vehicles rolled past.

Mendenhall, who had several charges pending against her, was sentenced Oct. 9 by Judge Philip Montgomery after she agreed to plead guilty to a charge of aggravated battery.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. Oct. 17 on northbound Peace Road after three cars had been involved in a road-rage incident, Sycamore police Cmdr. Steve Cook said.

“Each one [was] thinking the other one cut them off,” Cook said at the time.

Mendenhall was one of the drivers involved, and got out of her car to confront another woman, Cook said. When the other woman said she was calling the police, Mendenhall went back to the woman’s vehicle, dragged her out of it, and the fight began. The two scuffled on the pavement as southbound vehicles crept past, some honking their horns. An off-duty police officer was the first to break up the fight.

Mendenhall must serve at least half of the sentence, based on her behavior.