Island Lake man pleads guilty in DUI crash that killed motorcyclist in McHenry

An Island Lake man has pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with a 2021 fatal motorcycle-vehicle crash in McHenry.

Steven W. Foulk, 70, entered a guilty plea Tuesday before Judge Mark Gerhardt in McHenry County court to one count of aggravated DUI. His sentencing is scheduled for April 3, according to court records.

At 2 a.m. July 15, 2021, Foulk was driving his Toyota Camry south on Chapel Hill Road approaching Route 120 in McHenry when he struck Kenneth Jackson’s motorcycle from behind at the intersection. The crash caused Jackson “to be thrown from the motorcycle into the front of Foulk’s vehicle,” according to a news release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Jackson, 37, of Antioch, was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a news release from 2021 sent from the McHenry County Coroner’s Office. Preliminary findings from an autopsy performed the next day showed the cause of death was blunt-force trauma, according to the release.

Foulk was charged with two counts of aggravated DUI causing death, two counts of aggravated DUI causing bodily harm and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash. Foulk was found to have been speeding at the time of the crash and had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.159 three hours after the crash, authorities said.

A Steven W. Foulk is listed as a Chicago police officer who retired in May 2010, according to Chicago Fraternal Order of Police records.

“The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office recognizes that those that drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs continue to destroy the lives of so many families in our community,” the state’s attorney’s office said in the release. “This senseless and tragic death was entirely preventable.”

McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese thanked the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the McHenry Police Department for their efforts in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Special Prosecutor William Bruce.