A 58-year-old Batavia woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a DUI crash in 2023 near Sugar Grove that killed two, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
According to prosecutors, in the late hours of July 21, 2023, Melissa J. Hill left a nearby residence traveling southbound on Bliss Road, a two-lane roadway in Blackberry Township, a news release from the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Attempting to pass another vehicle, Hill entered the northbound lane in a no-passing zone, colliding head-on with a pickup truck and causing a four-car crash, the release said.
In the pickup truck were driver Jonathan Couch, 54, of Sugar Grove, and passenger Teresa Haidl, 56, of Batavia, the news release from the State’s Attorney’s Office said. Couch was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead the following morning. Haidl was also taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she died two days after the crash, according to officials.
The passengers of the two other vehicles involved in the crash suffered minor injuries, the news release said.
Following the crash, Hill was taken to a nearby hospital, where her blood was drawn for medical treatment, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Her blood alcohol content was recorded at 0.236, almost three times the legal limit, the office said, and officers who responded to the scene found a partially consumed bottle of wine on the passenger floorboard of Hill’s car, according to the release.
On June 22, 2026, Hill pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI in a crash causing death, the State’s Attorney’s Office said. The maximum possible sentence was 28 years in prison, the office said, and the state sought a sentence of 18 years.
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Hill must serve at least 85% of the eight-year prison sentence, the news release said. She receives credit for one day served in the Kane County jail.