A former Homer Glen man sentenced this week to 12 years in prison for causing a deadly crash near Darien while high on several drugs will appeal his sentence, his attorney said Wednesday.
Robert Ebel, 55, was sentenced Monday by DuPage County Judge Margaret O’Connell after pleading guilty in April to aggravated driving under the influence for an accident causing death, which is a felony, the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office said in a news release.
Ebel’s attorney, Adam Sheppard, said he will file an appeal.
“We felt the evidence did not warrant the sentence that was imposed,” Sheppard said.
Ebel pleaded guilty without an agreement with prosecutors on a sentence. He was accused of driving a 2015 Tesla at a high speed Aug. 22, 2020, on Interstate 55 near Darien. He attempted to pass a semi-truck on the right-hand shoulder when he crashed into a disabled Toyota, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
John Exner, 51, who was in the Toyota, was taken to the hospital but later died of his injuries, including a collapsed lung, internal bleeding and an injury to his spleen, the news release said.
Ebel had amphetamine, cocaine and THC in his system at the time of the accident, the news release said.
“Mr. Ebel’s incredibly dangerous behavior that afternoon cost John Exner his life,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the news release. “While a 12-year sentence will never replace the love and support John once provided to his friends and family, perhaps knowing that the man responsible for his death will be held responsible, will help them gain some measure of closure in this horrible chapter in their lives.”
Ebel will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole and will receive credit for 958 days he has already spent in custody, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
