UPDATED 5:10 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – A teenager who pleaded guilty in March to causing a fatal crash almost a year and a half ago is going to prison for the crime, and received the sentence prosecutors asked for.
Court records indicate Clayton Bell, now 18, was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to 14 years in prison on charges of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence and Reckless Homicide.
Bell was behind the wheel of a car in February, 2022 on Pfeiffer Road in Bartonville when passengers claimed Bell was trying to “catch air,” and instead crashed, going 80 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone.
The crash killed Mia Dusek, 15, when she was ejected.
Bell’s blood alcohol level was .14 at the time of the crash.
“Assistant State’s Attorney Brenda McCavitt passionately argued for the maximum sentence of fourteen years in prison,” said Jodi Hoos, Peoria County State’s Attorney, in a news release.
