Fatal consequences

More than two years after her 14-year-old daughter and three other people were killed in a head-on car crash, Brenda Protz is still seeking justice – not just in her own family’s tragedy but for other families who may find themselves in similar circumstances.

Police and prosecutors say the fatal crash was a result of the then-17-year-old driver in the other vehicle, Michael Jones, of Harvel, texting while driving.

Protz, a Lincoln Land Community College professor, believes he should have immediately lost his driving privileges at least until the case is resolved. But two years after he was charged, the matter is still pending – and he is still driving, she said.

In addition to Brenda’s daughter, Jenna, other people killed in the crash were Brenda’s former mother-in-law and father-in-law, William and Jackolyn Protz of Sullivan, and Jenna’s best friend, Holly Lidy of Vandalia. Brenda Protz lives in Springfield, but her daughter lived with her ex-husband in Vandalia.

The day of the crash, Nov. 16, 2019, Vandalia High School had played a football game at Williamsville. On the way home from the game, the car Jenna Protz was riding in collided head-on with a pickup truck driven by Jones near the Montgomery County community of Coffeen.

All of the people in the Protz vehicle died at the scene, and a helicopter flew Jones to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield with life-threatening injuries.

“I don’t want to downplay that he wasn’t hurt, because he most definitely was,” Brenda Protz said. Still, she says it’s unfair that Jones continues to lead a normal life with his family when she misses her own child so much.

She says he deserves to be punished in some manner because phone records obtained by the state police indicate that Jones was texting at the time of the accident.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti said Jones is charged as a juvenile with aggravated unlawful use of a communications device. The possible penalties for a juvenile charged with such a crime are up to three years of detention and the loss of his driver’s license until he turns 21.

Affrunti said he has been in discussions with Jones’ lawyer. But the case is moving much slower than usual because the pandemic has created a backlog in the courts. Either a plea agreement will be reached soon or a judge will set a trial date, he said. The juvenile case has been extended into adult court because Jones is now 19.

Affrunti said the agreement that is being negotiated would be some type of license suspension until Jones is 21 and a probation that, if violated, could result in Jones being sent to prison for a period of time.

The Jones family did not immediately respond to inquiries from Illinois Times. Springfield lawyer John Sharp, who is representing Jones, said he could not discuss the case.

“The fact that he has been driving for over two years is disgusting,” Brenda Protz said.

“We have wanted from the very beginning that he should at least lose that privilege. … And at least for me, from the standpoint of a parent, I can’t imagine my child killing four people and me allowing them to still drive when they’re under the roof of my house. I just can’t even imagine it. I can’t imagine wanting to drive after killing four people.”

Protz said she has received screenshots from social media posts that she believes show Jones driving during the time since the crash.

She brought her concerns to state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield. He said he has drafted legislation that would require adults charged with texting and driving in cases involving a fatality to immediately lose their driver’s license.

McClure said the immediate license suspension would be similar to how drunken driving cases are handled now. Senate Bill 3408 will be amended with the new language and named the Protz-Lidy Act to honor those killed in the crash.

However, McClure said he is not optimistic that the legislation will become law.

“Any penalty enhancement in this (Capitol) building, they’re not going anywhere. And this is not a Department of Corrections penalty enhancement, but it is a penalty enhancement involving a person’s license. So, it’s really tough to pass these things at this moment because the Black caucus is totally opposed to any penalty enhancements. And they really haven’t budged on that, at least in the Senate.”

Brenda Protz said it is not known what message Jones was allegedly texting at the time of the wreck. She said he has refused to provide the passcode for the phone to the Illinois State Police. The phone has been hooked up for months to a device that is trying to break the code.

“Because since you have a right to not incriminate yourself, you don’t have to give up the passcode in a case like this,” Brenda Protz said.

But Affrunti said the Appellate Court for the Fourth District of Illinois ruled in a different case during the last few weeks that providing a passcode does not constitute self-incrimination. He said he has shared this information with Jones’ lawyer.

Montgomery County is in the Fourth District and the court’s ruling could be a binding precedent.

“We want to be able to share what is in the message because it would help the families get closure,” Affrunti said.

Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.

This article appears in Abortion haven 2022.