A former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to reckless homicide for his role in a high-speed 2007 crash that killed teenage sisters has requested a delay in the hearing on whether his driving privileges should be restored.
Capitol News Illinois reports former Trooper Matt Mitchell asked for more time to prepare for the hearing that was originally set for today (Sept. 20) in Mount Vernon. The hearing is now scheduled for November first.
This is Mitchell’s sixth time requesting his driver’s license be reinstated. Former Secretary of State Jesse White personally rejected previous recommendations that it be reinstated. White retired in January.
Mitchell was driving his squad car in heavy post-holiday traffic in St. Clair County in 2007 when he lost control and crashed head-on into a car driven by 18-year-old Jessica Uhl. Uhl and her 13-year-old sister Kelli Uhl died at the scene.
An accident reconstruction showed Mitchell was driving more than 120 miles an hour, talking on his cell phone, and using his in-dash computer in the moments before the crash.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
