Man gets 11 years for 2015 DUI crash that killed motorcyclist in Burr Ridge

A man was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to DUI for a fatal 2015 crash in southwest suburban Burr Ridge.

Fawzi Ottman, 46, pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2017, to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing a death for the crash that left motorcyclist Daniel J. Dacanay dead, according to a statement from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. His sentence of 11 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections was handed down Monday.

Ottman was driving a Chevrolet about 5 p.m. on April 17, 2015, on I-55 just south of County Line Road in Burr Ridge as a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a Hummer were merging onto the expressway, according to prosecutors and Illinois State Police. The Chevrolet hit the bike, sending it and its driver, 30-year-old Dacanay, into the rear of the Hummer.

By the time police arrived at the scene, witnesses had removed Dacanay from underneath Ottman’s vehicle, prosecutors said. After the crash, Ottman had continued to drive for about 200 feet, dragging Dacanay for at least part of that distance.

Both men were taken to a hospital, where Dacanay died, prosecutors said. Ottman was later found to have several illegal drugs in his system at the time of the crash.

“With illegal opiates, numerous benzodiazepines and cannabis in his system, Mr. Ottman had no business being behind the wheel that afternoon,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said in the statement. “His actions were beyond reckless and cost an innocent man his life.”

Ottman, who lived in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.