States Attorney
WHEATON MAN RECEIVES SEVEN YEARS IN THREE DUI FATALITIES
WHEATON - DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph E. Birkett announced today that Shelley Dogra, 27 (d.o.b. 12/5/79), of 26W215 Prairie Avenue, Wheaton was sentenced today by Judge George Bakalis to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in connection with a May, 2005 fatal car crash that killed three passengers in a vehicle he was driving. On October 30, 2006, Dogra plead guilty in connection to the accident to Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Resulting in the Death of Two or More Persons, a Class 2 Felony. Dogra was injured in the accident. The victims who died as a result of the crash are Marell Charan, 27, of Pleasant Hill in Wheaton, Nirav Mehta, 28, of Melrose Court in Urbana, IL, and Esther Rao, 22, of Prairie Avenue in Wheaton.
In an unincorporated area of West Chicago in the early morning hours of May 25, 2005, Dogra lost control of the vehicle he was driving. The vehicle careened off the road and struck several trees. The crash went un-reported until approximately 5:30 a.m. when a passing jogger called 911. It is believed the crash may have occurred as early as 2:30 a.m. when neighbors in the surrounding area heard a loud noise.
“On May 25, 2005, Mr. Dogra made the terrible decision to get behind the wheel after he had been drinking,” commented Birkett. “This regrettable decision cost two family members and a close friend their lives and forever changed the lives of the family and friends they left behind. While the sentence handed down by Judge Bakalis cannot bring back the victims of this terrible tragedy, it can send a message that drunk driving will not be tolerated. Drunk driving accidents are not accidents. They can be avoided and lives can be spared by simply not getting behind the wheel after you have been drinking.”
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