It only takes one-too-many drinks and a split-second lapse in judgment to deprive someone of their life and a mother of her son. Sometimes getting arrested for a DUI is nothing compared to the ultimate price paid by innocent motorists who find themselves at the wrong place and time.
Nineteen-year-old Kevin Benes had just started his career as an electrician after graduating high school in 2008, where he was active in sports. On Dec. 11, 24-year-old repeat offender Michael Bourdage ran a red light and broadsided Benes, killing him (Sun-Times). Results of a breathalyzer test show Bourdage was drunk at the time of the accident.
He is being held on $500,000 bail at Will County Jail. Although he's barely of age, Bourdage had more than a dozen previous arrests for traffic, alcohol and drug offenses.
Bourdage was charged with possession and consumption of alcohol by a minor six years ago and pleaded guilty, then pleaded guilty for a DUI four years later in 2007. He received two years of probation, fined $1,200 and ordered to enroll in an alcohol treatment program. So instead of walking the line, he allegedly decided to celebrate upon ending his probation.
Benes, meanwhile, was driving home from work when he pulled his Dodge Neon into an intersection and was broadsided by Bourdage's Dodge Ram, a much bigger vehicle. Benes' mother, Marilyn, understandably was relieved when the judge upheld Bourdage's original bail at a bond-reduction hearing:
"You're going to let this boy out and be with his family, and I can't have my boy at my house for Christmas?"
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M.A.D.D. Victim Impact Panel (M.A.D.D. Illinois)
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Chicago DUI Attorneys (FindLaw)
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