Former Springfield police sergeant sentenced for DUI

A woman who almost lost her life because of a crash caused by Michael Egan said the 90-day jail sentence he received Jan. 30 for drunken driving was too lenient, but because of the criminal justice system’s inherent bias toward police, not surprising.

“Unfortunately, I was expecting him to skate out easy because he’s a cop, and that’s the way it goes, I guess,” a tearful Chelsey Farley said after Egan, 51, a retired Springfield police sergeant, was sentenced by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Robin Schmidt.

The judge’s decision ended a case that included public speculation of preferential treatment Egan may have received from police dispatched to the scene of the Sept. 5, 2024, collision between Egan’s car and a motorcycle near Lake Springfield a few hours after the officer’s final shift.

The case led to a public demonstration and a scuffle on Sept. 9, 2024, between protesters and police wielding plastic shields outside police headquarters downtown.

The incident also contributed to rising tension in the community, occurring just two months after the murder of Sonya Massey in her Woodside Township home at the hands of former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson.

Grayson was sentenced to a 20-year-prison term Jan. 29 after being convicted of second-degree murder and could be released in 8½ years with credit for time served and good behavior.

“I wanted to see Michael Egan sent to the penitentiary for at least five to six years,” said Farley, 32, a Springfield resident. “The man should have been treated as any other American citizen and he’s not, because in America, the cops are more important.”

Egan will be incarcerated at the Sangamon County Jail. He pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily harm, as well as a misdemeanor DUI charge.

The felony DUI charge carried a potential penalty ranging from probation and no jail or prison time, to a prison term of between one and 12 years. Illinois law allows a prison term for that offense to be reduced by 15% for good behavior.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brittney Lehr asked Schmidt to give Egan a prison sentence “somewhere in the middle” of the range allowed by law.

But Dan Fultz, who worked with fellow attorney Mark Wykoff to represent Egan, asked the judge sentence Egan to probation alone. The two attorneys also represented Grayson.

Egan, who has remained free after initially spending a day in jail, was taken into custody immediately after sentencing. Fultz declined comment when contacted by Illinois Times after the sentencing. Lehr couldn’t be reached after the sentencing, and Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser didn’t respond to a request for comment.

After Egan’s release in three months, he could be ordered to serve another 90 days in jail, or possibly time beyond that in prison, if he violates any terms of his 30 months of probation. The judge also ordered him to perform 300 hours of community service upon release and make a $5,000 donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Egan’s conviction stemmed from a crash on East Lake Shore Drive in Springfield that injured Farley and her then-boyfriend, Trevor Hopkins. They were riding a Kawasaki motorcycle, with Hopkins, 32, the driver, and Farley as his passenger.

Authorities said the motorcycle was southbound when Egan was behind the wheel of a 2018 Toyota SUV and northbound at 9:20 p.m., traveling the speed limit at 45 mph.

Egan failed to yield the right of way and made a left turn, without using a turn signal, in front of the motorcycle near the entrance to the Anchor Boat Club.

The motorcycle struck the passenger side of Egan’s car. Neither Hopkins nor Farley was wearing a helmet.

Egan, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, wasn’t hurt in the crash. Farley, the more seriously injured of the two on the cycle, lost consciousness and broke her pelvis in three places, broke her tailbone and both collarbones, and suffered bleeding in her brain because of the trauma.

The mother of two was intubated, put on a respirator and placed in a medically induced coma for about two weeks and hospitalized for a month. Doctors placed metal pins and screws and a metal plate in her body to hold it together and promote healing.

Several people at the scene, including those who posted video to social media, as well as members of Farley’s family and other members of the public, have said they were upset that Springfield police failed to keep Egan in the back seat of a police car during the scene investigation and allowed him to roam the scene, stumble around and accept multiple glasses of water to drink.

Four Springfield police officers later were disciplined for their handling of the scene, but results of the internal investigation didn’t address whether Egan, a 23-year veteran of the force, received preferential treatment.

According to Lehr, Egan was heading to the boat club for a “a nightcap” after consuming multiple drinks at a Springfield bar to celebrate his retirement earlier in the day.

Officials had to get a court order to force Egan to get a blood test. The test, six hours later, indicated that Egan’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was between 0.018% and 0.0234% – or about double the legal limit for driving, according to Lehr.

“This defendant did everything wrong … resulting in life-altering changes” for Farley, Lehr told the judge.

Both Farley and Farley’s sister, Caitlyn Weiss, 34, of Springfield, said they were upset that Egan, until the sentencing hearing, never publicly expressed remorse for his actions and the emotional and physical turmoil he caused for Farley and her loved ones.

Farley, who has attended several court hearings for Egan, said he has never spoken to her. “Every time I’ve seen him, he’s laughing, smiling, palling around,” she said.

Weiss testified, “He could have easily killed two Springfield citizens that night. It never should have happened.”

Looking at Egan in the courtroom from the witness stand, Weiss said, “You will go on, but this will haunt her and all of us.”

Farley said she has ongoing nerve damage and other lifelong challenges from the crash and wonders how Egan could have driven drunk after arresting many drunk drivers during his career and witnessing the results of their decisions.

Farley told Egan in the courtroom, “I hope that you, Mike Egan, are punished as severely as any of us would be. … I hope you rot.”

Fultz, one of Egan’s attorneys, said Egan didn’t express remorse until now because his lawyers instructed him not to and because such an expression could be used against him in court.

“Mike Egan served this city with honor” and was “crushed” when former police chief Kenneth Scarlette, in charge at the time, said publicly that Egan embarrassed the police department, Fultz said.

“He is devastated by this,” Fultz said.

Egan spoke briefly before Schmidt’s ruling, saying, “I made a terrible mistake. A day hasn’t passed that I have not thought about the pain I caused you and both of your families.”

Fultz said Egan was a “model citizen who made a serious mistake.”

Springfield police Lt. Brian Oakes, who testified about Egan’s character, said Egan is a good friend. Egan expressed remorse every time they talked, Oakes said.

Egan has become withdrawn and is “on his own imposed ‘house arrest’” since the crash, according to Oakes. “He is not the same person,” Oakes said.

“Nobody is more sorry this has happened than him,” Oakes said. “He doesn’t blame anybody else. He blames himself.”

Patrick Shea testified that Egan used to be a regular volunteer as part of the Little Flower Catholic Church men’s club but no longer shows up.

Farley and her sister said after sentencing that they doubt Egan’s sincerity.

Weiss said testimony from some character witnesses about Egan becoming a virtual recluse was contradicted by Lorinda Lamken, who testified that Egan, a family friend, has been to her home 20 times in the past year to spend time with her husband.

Schmidt said the suffering Egan caused Farley was “profound” and “entirely preventable.” The judge said she was affected by Farley and Weiss’ testimony. Schmidt said she considered Egan’s lack of a prior criminal record, his honorable service as a police officer and his bad decisions at the end of his career.

“He should have known better,” Schmidt said, but she added, “He has shown remorse” and was likely to comply with terms of his probation.

Josh Witkowski, a lobbyist for ABATE of Illinois, which advocates on behalf of motorcyclists, said Egan’s sentence was “not a deterrent” for other police officers.

“He should have been held to a higher standard, and unfortunately, he wasn’t today,” Witkowski said.

Farley said the sentence Schmidt imposed was puzzling after the judge appeared sympathetic when Farley and Weiss testified. Farley said the system has to change.

“Twenty years is not enough for Sean Grayson, and three months is not enough for Mike Egan,” Farley said. “This is screwed, and I think our government needs to do better.”