Deadly weapon or manic episode? Trial in head-on crash that killed McHenry man begins

A Chicago man acted “criminally” when he “used his car as a deadly weapon” on May 18, 2020, while traveling westbound on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron, crossing the center line, striking a work van head-on, killing its driver and seriously injuring the passenger, Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito said Monday.

An attorney for William P. Bishop, however, told a packed courtroom that his client was not criminally culpable because he was “in the throes of a severe psychotic manic episode” and hearing “auditory hallucinations” leading up to the crash.

Bishop, 44, of Chicago, is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence. Opening arguments in the trial started Monday.

Bishop’s attorney Fredrick Day, did not dispute that it was Bishop’s hands steering the wheel and foot on the gas when the crash occurred at about 2:30 p.m. that day, “but he was helpless to stop what happened.”

The courtroom was packed with people supporting Bishop as well as those for the victims, Jason E. Miller, 41, of McHenry, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and passenger Rory Fiali, 58, of McHenry.

Romito, the chief of special prosecutions for the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, said Fiali suffered multiple serious injuries to his face, body and brain as a result of Bishop deliberately smashing his Jeep Grand Cherokee into the work van.

Fiali remains in a rehabilitation facility, the fifth one he has been in since the crash.

“Nearly every bone in his face was broken,” Romito said. The life Fiali is living today “resembles nothing prior to May 18, 2020.”

She said Bishop had been suicidal in the days leading up to the crash and had melatonin and illegal amounts of marijuana in his system when he got in his car from downtown and drove out to McHenry County.

Calling the damages Bishop caused “deliberate” and “catastrophic,” Romito said Bishop had no business being out on the road that day “in that state of mind.”

“Yes, he was suicidal, but this is criminal,” Romito said. “It was not an accident. This was criminal. This is a crime.”

Day said Bishop’s mental illness was compounded by the shutdowns at the time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said he went to bed at 8:30 p.m. the night before but never slept. Instead, he laid wide awake with his mind spinning.

“He knew something was not right with his mind,” Day said.

Day said Bishop drove out to McHenry County to clear his mind, get some fresh air, and was listening to Howard Stern on the radio and hearing command auditory hallucinations.

“A voice told him to go into the oncoming lane and crash into a vehicle,” Day said. “He was in a manic episode that day.”

After the crash, Bishop was committed for 19 days, Day said.

Noting that this is a sad situation and that mental illness is an invisible illness unlike a broken arm, Day said it was a crash “caused by a mind that did not appreciate the results of his actions. He is not criminally culpable.”

In later testimony, Jeanne Berge and her husband, Todd Berge, of Algonquin said they were outside a nearby business when Jeanne Berge said they heard “a loud boom.”

She said she heard no sounds of tires screeching.

They ran over and saw the van smashed and turned over on its side on the side of the road, its front window shattered and the Jeep behind it with a smashed front end, the Berges both testified. They also saw Bishop walking away from the scene and asked him if he was OK and said he looked dazed and confused.

Todd Berge said when he asked Bishop if he was OK he responded, “I just looked down at my radio.” He then walked off.

Sobs were heard in the courtroom while a recording of the 911 call was played, and Jeanne Berge’s voice was heard asking for help, describing the scene, the state of the vehicles and the two men inside the van. She also is heard yelling at passing vehicles asking for a fire extinguisher because fire was on the gas line of the van, she said.

Gail Hall of Wonder Lake, a passerby who stopped to help, said she also saw Bishop walking away and asked him to sit in her vehicle to wait for help. When she asked if he was OK, he started mumbling and talking to himself.

McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Novak testified that he spoke with Bishop when he arrived at the scene and he told him twice that “the crash was all his fault.”

Novak said some of Bishop’s statements were clear, but other times Bishop was incoherent. At one point he said something about the radio, Novak said.

Firefighter paramedic Zachary Ignoffo, who was working for Wonder Lake Fire Protection District at the time, said Bishop told him he didn’t remember the crash. He also said he had high blood pressure, and after an assessment involving 15 questions, he determined that Bishop exhibited an “altered mental status.”

Ignoffo said he was more concerned with Bishop’s mental state than any physical injuries. The closer they got to the hospital in McHenry the more Bishop’s answers didn’t make sense. He said he “is deep in thought” and then he stopped answering any questions at all.

To this, Romito asked if he could have been in this altered state due to smoking pot and having high blood pressure, to which Ignoffo answered, “Yes.”

Steven Singh, a general surgeon who evaluated Bishop, said Bishop told him “he was driving his car and wanted to kill himself and drove into another vehicle.”

The trial will resume Tuesday morning.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the town Rory Fiali lives in. He is from McHenry.