Driver pleads guilty after crash leaving ISP Trooper Brian Frank catastrophically injured
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois State troopers packed a Will County courthouse on Friday to support one of their own.
Trooper Brian Frank was catastrophically injured two years ago when a driver slammed into the back of his squad car on I-55.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reports from the Will County Courthouse, where the man behind the wheel pleaded guilty.
Trooper Brian Frank was catastrophically injured two years ago when a driver slammed into the back of his squad car on I-55.
The man behind the wheel pleaded guilty today. CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reports from Joliet.
It was a lengthy and incredibly emotional hearing. Trooper Brian Frank is minimally conscious and unable to speak on his behalf, but he was in the courtroom and dressed in his full trooper uniform.
His wife, family, and members of the Illinois State Police gave impact statements about the devastation they've experienced since the crash.
Illinois State Trooper Brian Frank was coming home on a snowy February day in 2021.
He was stopped on Interstate 55 near Plainfield with his emergency lights on when another car slammed into the back of the squad car.
The charming, charismatic newlywed suffered a traumatic brain injury. He spent two years in rehab, with many near-death encounters, before being escorted home in May by his devoted family, friends, and colleagues in uniform.
Angel Casillas is the driver prosecutors said slammed into the back of Trooper Brian Frank's squad car.
On Friday, Casillas pleaded guilty to violating Scott's Law, which requires drivers to slow down and move over when approaching emergency vehicles with their hazards flashing.
Trooper Frank's wife, Lauren Frank, has been fighting for justice in her husband's case for years. She said no sentence or judgment would make Brian whole, but she's hoping for the maximum sentence to set an example for other drivers.
Casillas also took the stand and, in an emotional speech, apologized directly to Lauren and her family and said, "If I could, I would switch places with Brian in a heartbeat."
He said Brian did not deserve this.
"I'm happy to have the hearing just be behind us now. It was just looming over us for so long, and you know, nothing changes anything. I was happy with the apology. It felt like it was heartfelt. It was something I didn't expect to happen, so best as it could have gone, I think," said Lauren Frank.
The judge will review these statements, and the final sentence will be given on August 14. The maximum sentence is three years in prison.