Wheaton, IL – A West Chicago man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a 2024 drunk driving crash that seriously injured a man riding an electric scooter before fleeing the scene, according to DuPage County prosecutors.
According to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, Robert Borchering, 58, of West Chicago, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Daniel Guerin to 11 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Borchering previously pleaded guilty on April 21, 2026, to one count of Aggravated DUI – Great Bodily Harm and one count of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Personal Injury or Death.
Prosecutors said the crash occurred at approximately 4 p.m. on June 21, 2024, near High Lake Road and Sunset Avenue in unincorporated West Chicago. Authorities allege Borchering was driving westbound on High Lake Road when he turned left onto southbound Sunset Avenue, striking a man riding an electric scooter.
According to prosecutors, the victim, who was wearing both a helmet and a high-visibility vest, landed on Borchering’s windshield and later the roof of the vehicle before falling off as Borchering continued driving away without stopping to render aid or call for help.
Investigators later determined Borchering had been drinking before the crash. Prosecutors said he had consumed three pitchers of beer and multiple Fireball shots at a local pub. After refusing a breath test, authorities obtained a search warrant, and a blood sample collected about five and a half hours later allegedly showed a blood alcohol concentration of .171.
The victim suffered multiple serious injuries, including fractures to both legs, the cervical vertebrae, right scapula and clavicle, and multiple ribs, according to prosecutors.
Judge Guerin ordered Borchering to serve eight years on the aggravated DUI conviction at 85% and three years on the leaving-the-scene conviction at 50%, with the sentences to run consecutively.
