Man in drunk-driving crash in ’95 arrested for aggravated DUI

By Editor | October 20, 2010 |

A rural Farina man who has served a prison term for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed two local teens was arrested on Saturday for driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest log, Rocky L. Bennyhoff, 56, RR 2, Farina, was arrested by the Illinois State Police on a charge of driving under the influence.
He now faces charges of aggravated driving under the influence, improper lane usage, illegal transportation of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident involving vehicle damage. He allegedly was arrested by the state police following a one-vehicle accident early Saturday.
Bond for Bennyhoff was set at $25,000, and he posted bond, according to the arrest log.
Fayette County State’s Attorney Stephen Friedel said on Tuesday morning that the filing of formal charges against Bennyhoff is pending.
Friedel said Bennyhoff has been charged with aggravated DUI because of his involvement in an Oct. 13, 1995, crash.
Bennyhoff was charged with causing the crash, just south of the intersection of U.S. Route 51 and U.S. Route 40 at Vandalia’s eastern edge, which resulted in the deaths of Leigh-Ann Metzger and Kelly Charles Horton, two 19-year-old Vandalia teens.
One year later, Bennyhoff was found guilty of two counts of reckless homicide. He was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison for each count, with the two sentences served concurrently.
During a jury trial on the charges, the evidence presented by the prosecution included testimony that Bennyhoff’s blood-alcohol content on the evening of the crash was .301. At that time, the legal intoxication limit was .10; it was later lowered to .08.
After his release from prison, Bennyhoff was arrested for driving while his license was revoked. He was arrested on the Class A misdemeanor in May 2002, and found guilty of the offense in a jury trial in January 2003.
He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and placed on conditional discharge with special conditions for two years.