DUI Victim's Ashes Brought To Sentencing For Wilmington Man

JOLIET, IL — Two dozen family members and friends brought along a box containing the ashes of I-55 crash victim Nick Ercolini as they packed Will County Courtroom 502 of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak for Wednesday 's sentencing of repeat drunken driver Erik Christensen, 51, to nine years at the Illinois Department of Corrections. Christensen's wrong way crash on Interstate 55 near Wilmington happened three years ago this month.

The fatal crash happened on Nov. 22, 2020, and it marked Christensen's fourth DUI offense, according to courtroom testimony. Under Wednesday's plea bargain, Christensen pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI causing a death and also driving while revoked or suspended.

Carly Ercolini brought the box containing her husband's ashes to the witness stand as she read several victim impact statements written by her 9-year-old daughter, as well as Nick's mother-in-law, and then for herself.

"Our family feels as though we didn't get to say goodbye and told him we loved him," Carly Ercolini told the packed courtroom. "It ruins your life. Our lives will never be the same. The holidays and milestones without him are unbearable."

Carly Ercolini testified that in the days following her husband's death, several Amazon packages that he just bought as Christmas gifts for everybody began arriving at their house.

"We have gone through hell and back since Nick was taken from us," she told Christensen, who wore a gray suit to his sentencing. He was accompanied by long-time Joliet criminal defense lawyer, Steven Haney, who has expertise in DUI cases.

Nick Ercolini was killed late night while driving on his way to his job as a union mechanic working the third shift. The victim's families are from Cook and DuPage counties, and the Ercolinis lived near Streator when the tragedy happened.

Judge Bertani-Tomczak learned that Nick's death has created a financial hardship on Carly Ercolini.

"Nick loved life and that was all taken away from him because a man made a decision to drink and drive," she told Judge Bertani. "This, we will never forgive him for. This act by the defendant was clearly preventable.

"Our hearts will be forever broken. What was (Nick) thinking ... knowing Nick, he was just trying his best to survive."

Carly Ercolini reminded Christensen that "you got so wasted that you got on the interstate going the wrong way."

She also pointed out that the crash that killed her husband happened on a Sunday night. Christensen had been frequenting one of Wilmington's bars, Snookers Sports Bar and Grill, according to a civil lawsuit she filed in 2021.

"It was party time for you, right?" she asked. "How proud of you your family must be. If you had to drink, Erik, why couldn't you have just stayed home? You deserve to go to jail because of the utter destruction you caused. Erik Christensen has had numerous DUIs, but this time, he killed our Nick," Carly Ercolini told everyone seated for Wednesday's sentencing.

Will County's longest-serving judge sentenced Christensen to another six years of prison for one of his other felony charges, but she ordered that sentence to run at the same time. Under the SAFE-T ACT, the judge announced, Christensen will get credit for the 617 days he remained out of the Will County Jail under home confinement, plus the 39 days he spent in the Will County Jail.

Assistant Will County State's Attorney Christine Vukmir told Nick Ercolini's family and friends after the hearing that Christensen will remain incarcerated for six full years, after factoring in his credit for time already served. He must serve the nine-year prison sentence at 85 percent.
Christensen is almost 52 years old, according to testimony.

Carly Ercolini told everyone that she "married my best friend" 10 years ago after meeting him when she was 20 years old, a stranded motorist on Interstate 355 with a broken down vehicle. They got married in 2013, had Ryan in 2014 and purchased a home in 2015.

She told the courtroom that she replayed the events of her husband's last night alive over and over in her mind.

What if she would have talked to him before he left for work for another five or 10 seconds? Or, had she done something that delayed him from leaving their home a few seconds?

Why didn't she delay his crash from happening, she wondered.

On the night of his death, Carly Ercolini testified she was in the comfort of her bed as her husband's car was smashed and mangled by the wrong-way driver, Christensen. She was in bed as the Will County Coroner's Office staff responded to I-55 to pronounce her 33-year-old husband dead.

"This was not an accident," she declared. After all, Christensen already had his third DUI back in 2013. On the night of her husband's death, the Wilmington man was three times the legal limit for driving drunk.

Although Christensen had a suspended driver's license, and his vehicle was equipped with an ignition interlock device, Christensen drove his adult daughter's car.

"Three prior DUIs," Carly Ercolini remarked. "There is no hope of rehab ... November 22nd, you made a decision for my family that we had no say in. A decision that Nick didn't ask to be put on the road with you."

After Wednesday's sentencing, several members of Ercolini's family approached prosecutor Vukmir and gave her a hug, thanking her for all of her efforts at trying to obtain a long prison sentence for the man who killed their loved one and dear friend.

During the proceedings, Vukmir also had one of Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow's comfort dogs on a leash in the courtroom for the grieving relatives of Ercolini to pet.

Joliet Patch has produced a second exclusive story regarding Christensen.

Related Patch coverage:

God Still Has A Plan For Repeat Drunk Driver, Erik Christensen Insists