Hit-and-Run Driver Sentenced to Probation for DUI Crash Near Water Tower Place
Ayca Sarialioglu, 30, has been sentenced to 30 months of probation after pleading guilty to failure to report an accident involving injury and aggravated DUI involving an accident with injury. The sentencing was handed down by Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer.
Prosecutors revealed that Sarialioglu struck a 40-year-old rideshare driver outside Water Tower Place while driving intoxicated after a night of drinking. The victim was standing in a loading zone when Sarialioglu hit him from behind, causing him to crash into her windshield and fall to the ground.
Surveillance footage from Water Tower Place captured Sarialioglu’s actions leading up to the collision, including hitting a parked van and running a red light at Michigan Avenue. Despite the crash, Sarialioglu continued driving until she was found passed out in a damaged car on West Erie Street about 15 minutes later.
Upon being apprehended by Chicago police, Sarialioglu admitted to drinking and driving, stating that she should not have been behind the wheel. However, she claimed that she did not intend to harm anyone and expressed remorse for the incident.
“I’m so sorry for anything that I caused you tonight, but at the same time, I don’t deserve this,” Sarialioglu told investigators during questioning.
