Drunk Driver Who Killed 9-Year-Old Aurora Girl Gets 13 Years

AURORA, IL — A man has been sentenced for the 2016 drunk driving crash that left Katie Jonak dead and two other girls badly injured as a mother drove them home from a play rehearsal. Anthony S. Potochney, 26, who pleaded guilty to the fatal crash in 2017, was driving at 75 mph through downtown Aurora and had a BAC of .193 when he slammed into the van. Potochney was sentenced to 13 years in prison Thursday.

"No sentence will erase the pain and anguish of young Katie’s family," Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon said after the sentence was handed down.

The fatal crash took place on October 7, 2016. Police say Potochney, whose BAC was still more than twice the legal limit hours after the collision, had drunk "6 Coors Lights and 4 Captain Morgans, and smoked marijuana" before getting behind the wheel.

After the crash, Potochney fled on foot, authorities say, but was later caught by Aurora Police.

Katie Jonak was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The two other girls were taken to the hospital, one with a bruised lung and the other with a broken bone.

McMahon called the crash "one of our worst nightmares, a catastrophic life-changing moment." He added, "Katie was killed by a self-centered individual who was both drunk and high. He was given a chance to live right, but he instead drank excessively, did drugs and drove recklessly. Then he ran like a coward from the crash he caused."

He said, "Mr. Potochney will have a long time to sit in his prison cell to think about what he could have done differently to prevent the tragic end to a child’s life."

Image via Kane County State's Attorney's Office