A 25-year-old man was charged with two counts of reckless homicide of an unborn child and 14 counts of reckless homicide in a deadly car accident that occurred in rural Beecher, Illinois. An expectant mother and her three young sons died in the crash.
Sean B. Woulfe was allegedly driving his 2002 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck 20 mph over the posted speed limit and ignored a stop sign. He entered the intersection and hit a 2014 Subaru Outback carrying a family that was heading to a nearby bible camp. Lindsey Schmidt, 29, was driving the vehicle with her three sons ages six, four and one as passengers. Schmidt was pregnant at the time of the accident.
According to authorities, Woulfe was traveling 75 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. Although the investigation did not find any evidence that he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it was not known whether texting could have been a factor in the crash.
Schmidt and the youngest boy died at the scene. Her two other sons died later that week at Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Woulfe was discharged from the hospital six days after the crash and arrested at his residence following a nearly month-long probe.
If convicted, Woulfe is likely to face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years due to driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit, killing more than one person and killing a child under the age of 12. His bond was reduced from $1 million to $250,000 after his attorney said that Woulfe was not a flight risk or a threat to public safety. Prosecutors argued that the high bond was warranted due to his previous speeding-related traffic violations.