Melrose Park man gets probation for 2007 crash that killed his father

A Melrose Park teenager accused of driving drunk in a 2007 crash in Oak Park that killed his father will not have to serve any prison time.

In a plea agreement announced Friday in the Maybrook courthouse, Eric Gomez, 18, received 30 months probation and community service.

Gomez had been drinking with his father at a home before the Oct. 20 crash.

When they left, Agustin Gomez, 48, asked his son to drive, authorities said. The two were traveling on Roosevelt Road in a Ford Explorer when they turned at a high rate of speed onto Cuyler Avenue, where they lost control. The SUV went over a curb, struck two houses and a tree, then rolled onto its roof.

Agustin Gomez died in the crash. Eric Gomez was treated for minor injuries.

Officials said the younger Gomez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.16—twice the legal limit for adults. He was charged with reckless homicide and three counts of aggravated driving under the influence.

Eric Gomez, of the 1500 block of 16th Avenue faced between 3 and 14 years in prison, but Cook County Circuit Judge Carol Kipperman handed down the less severe sentence Friday after citing extraordinary circumstances in the crash, such as the fact that his father was drunk and asked him to drive.