Marengo man sentenced to 5 years in prison for fatal DUI crash that killed his wife

A Marengo man who was charged in 2021 with driving drunk and causing a crash that killed his wife was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

Sergio Esquivel, 48, pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 2 felony, according to a judgment order in McHenry County court. He is required to serve 85% of his prison term followed by 12 months of mandatory supervised release, according to the order.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional counts of aggravated DUI, reckless homicide and aggravated reckless homicide were dismissed, court records show.

Police said that on the evening of Sept. 22, 2021, Esquivel was drunk when driving with his wife, Mabel Esquivel, west on Route 176. He was just west of Sunnyside Road when he crossed the center line and crashed into an oncoming vehicle driven by a 27-year-old Union woman. She was traveling with a 4-year-old passenger and two dogs, police said.

Mabel Esquivel was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. She was 44. Sergio Esquivel was taken to a hospital and treated for serious injuries, police said.

The two dogs in the Mazda died. The driver was hospitalized and treated for injuries including a broken nose. The child suffered a broken right arm and pelvis, according to the indictment.

In August, Esquivel’s Sept. 30 trial date was rescheduled, and the resolution of his case had been postponed because his son was hit by a vehicle while on foot. Esquivel, knowing he was going to be sent to prison, asked for time for his son, who was in intensive care in a Rockford hospital, to recover. He also asked for extra time so he could arrange for his son’s care while he was incarcerated, according to a motion to continue.

In January, he filed a motion to postpone a planned Feb. 5 hearing at which he was to enter into a plea deal, citing the fact that his son was about to come home. He needed to ensure his home was “compliant with the medical needs of his son,” his attorney William Bligh wrote in the motion. Family members also needed time for training on how to care for his son, and Esquivel needed time to arrange for guardianship of his son while he is in prison, Bligh said.