Man Charged In DUI Fatal Can Return To Missouri: Judge

JOLIET, IL - August was a terrible month for Michael DeBoard's family and friends. The Braidwood man was rear-ended by a drunk driver at 2:20 a.m. Aug. 9 on I-55 near Channahon's Bluff Road exit, according to the Illinois State Police. DeBoard, 60, never recovered. He died on Aug. 21. Since then, the young man accused of causing the fatal crash, Lucas Roth, 27, has been granted permission from Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes to leave Illinois.

Roth's hired lawyer, Ted Hammel of Joliet, noted in court documents that his client has been charged with aggravated DUI, which is a felony, and as a condition of his initial $50,000 bond, Roth was restricted from leaving Illinois. According to Hammel, his client currently lives in Missouri.

"Lucas M. Roth hereby requests that his bond be modified to allow him to travel out of the state of Illinois to the state of Missouri and any other further relief this court deems just," Hammel stated.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office objected to the bond medication request from Roth.

According to the complaint, Lucas Roth was under the influence of alcohol when came upon the victim's car and rear-ended him on I-55, where the posted speed limit is 65 mph. The impact sent DeBoard's 1997 Ford Aspire off the right side of I-55. He hit an embankment, rolled over and later died of his injuries.

After weighing arguments from both sides, Judge Policandriotes ruled in Roth's favor. Roth lives in the 700 block of Cougar Creek Trail, in St. Peters, which is a four-hour drive, 205 miles, from the site of the deadly collision. Court records indicate Roth previously lived around Homer Glen and still has family there.

As for Policandriotes, the judge on the fourth-floor of the Will County Courthouse has been involved in a handful of high-profile bond modification hearings of late that went in favor of the criminal defendant.

Last Friday, Policandriotes lowered the $1 million bond for defendant Sean Woulfe, who has been charged with 16 counts of reckless homicide in the July 24 Beecher tragedy that killed Lindsey Schmidt, her unborn child, and her three young sons who were in her vehicle.

In court Friday, prosecutors revealed that Woulfe, 25, was traveling 83 mph in a 55-mph zone when he blew through a rural stop sign, striking the Schmidt vehicle. Within hours of the judge's decision to lower Woulfe's bond to $250,000, his family posted the required 10 percent bail, $25,000, to secure his release from jail.

Also last week, Policandriotes changed the bond conditions for Gary Rollins to allow the 36-year-old Florida motorist to return to The Sunshine State. According to court documents, Rollins was looking at his cell phone as he drove along I-80 late at night on July 27. Near Joliet's Briggs Street, the Florida man lost control of his Ford pickup, striking two workers, Ricardo Leon, and Timothy Ahern. Rollins has been charged with aggravated reckless driving, a felony, and reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.

Mugshots of Lucas Roth and Sean Woulfe via Will County Sheriff's Department