West Chicago man to serve 10 years in prison following 2023 fatal accident

A West Chicago man charged with crashing into a vehicle head-on killing a man and seriously injuring his wife has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Jaime Damian, 22, appeared in court Tuesday where he plead guilty to one count of aggravated DUI – accident causing death and one count of aggravated DUI – great bodily harm, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Damian appeared in First Appearance Court on Dec. 12, 2023, where the state’s motion to deny him pre-trial release was granted. He has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time.

About 1:25 p.m. Sept. 14, 2023, Damian was driving his 2009 Honda westbound on Roosevelt Road east of Indian Knoll Road when he crossed over a double yellow line into oncoming traffic and struck a 2004 Lincoln sedan. The occupants of the Lincoln were identified as Jose Correa, who was driving, and his wife Maria, who was a passenger, according to the release.

Firefighters extracted Jose and Maria from the car and transported the couple to a local hospital. Damian was also transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Jose was later pronounced dead at the hospital after succumbing to injuries he sustained from the crash. Maria suffered a broken wrist and bruises on her legs. Through the course of their investigation, officers learned that at the time of the crash, Damian had cocaine in his system, according to the release.

“This afternoon, Jaime Damian learned that his decision to drive after he had been using cocaine will cost him the next 10 years of his life,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “This cost however, pales in comparison to the price that Jose Correa’s wife, family and friends must now pay with just memories of Jose to comfort them and see them through the rest of their lives. The sad truth is that this tragedy, like all driving-impaired fatalities, was 100% avoidable had Mr. Damian not gotten behind the wheel that afternoon.”

Damian will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.