DANVILLE, ILLINOIS — A Vermilion County judge has ordered a Georgetown man charged with causing the deaths of three people in a drunken-driving crash last month to be confined to his home.
Anthony Austin, 45, also will have to wear a GPS monitor while he awaits trial on charges of aggravated driving under the influence in connection with an Oct. 2 crash in southern Vermilion County.
Austin made his first court appearance Friday after a Vermilion County grand jury indicted him on four counts of the felony, alleging that he drove under the influence of alcohol or other drugs and was involved in a collision that caused the deaths of Lee Hall, 52, Felisha Hall, 46, and their daughter, Madison Hall, 18, all of Oxford, Ind.
The crash happened about 12:02 a.m. on that Sunday as the Halls were driving north on the Catlin-Indianola Road in a pickup truck towing an enclosed car trailer. Their vehicle was struck head-on by Austin’s truck, which was southbound.
Both trucks caught fire. The Halls were killed. Austin received serious injuries, including multiple broken bones. The indictment alleges that his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.08 percent or greater but did not give a specific measurement.
Austin’s attorney, Evan Bruno of Urbana, said his client has undergone several surgeries and needs a wheelchair to get around.
Judge Charles Hall agreed that Austin’s injuries made him medically unfit to be held in the public safety building. Instead, Austin will have to pay for the GPS device to monitor him while his case makes its way through the system.
He was also ordered not to drive, drink alcohol or enter any establishment that sells alcohol.
If convicted of the most serious offense of aggravated DUI resulting in the death of two or more people, Austin faces a mandatory prison term of six to 28 years, to be served at 85 percent time.
Hall told Austin to return to court Dec. 20.