Chronic speeder denied license

Suburban Chicago News
Nov. 19, 2005

AURORA — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has denied a local man's request to have his driver's license reinstated a year-and-a-half after a crash that killed two Fox Valley teens on Aurora's southeast side.

White ordered the driver's license of 22-year-old Michael J. Walt revoked last summer in order to "protect the citizens of Illinois" and "make the roads safer."

Police say Walt, a resident of Big Rock, was driving more than 70 mph along Route 34 near 75th Street on March 11, 2004, when his vehicle struck another broadsid, killing two people — 15-year-old Matthew Brant, of Aurora, and 18-year-old Lindsey Kelber, of Oswego.

It was Walt's fourth crash in as many years, and the speeding ticket he received at the scene was his 27th since 1999.

In a statement, White this week said he would not reinstate Walt's driving privileges because he has "failed to demonstrate that he would be a safe and responsible driver.
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White said Walt "has received leniency from the courts on a number of occasions, giving him the opportunity to learn from his mistakes.

"These prior violations and second chances ... were clearly insufficient. He continued to drive at excessive, illegal speeds and killed two people," White said.

The ruling comes roughly eight weeks after a hearing during which Walt asked the secretary of state to let him drive again.

"It's really opened my eyes," Walt said of the crash. "I was younger then; I was stupid. But ever since the accident, I've had a new view toward driving and responsibility. It's toned me down a lot."

An attorney for the secretary of state, however, pointed to an Internet message board posting in which Walt bragged of driving up to 100 mph during a trip to Wisconsin just four months after the fatal crash.

Walt responded that "it takes a while to break a bad habit."

Bob Brant, the father of Matthew Brant, said Friday he applauds White's decision.

"The secretary of state did the right thing," Brant said. "Unfortunately, it's 19 months too late. Michael Walt should not have had a license to be on the road the night of the crash."

Since the crash, the Brants have worked in tandem with state Rep. Joe Dunn, R-Naperville, to pass new legislation that says judges can give speeders only two court supervisions per year before handing down a harsher punishment.

Last month, they also helped found a nonprofit organization — Families Against Chronic Excessive Speeding — dedicated to keeping habitually bad drivers off the roads.

The group was co-founded by Mike Donovan, whose 23-year-old daughter and 4-year-old grandson died in a crash in West Chicago last month that was triggered by a driver with more than two dozen speeding tickets.

"It's a major problem," Brant said of speeding drivers. "People with records like these should never be allowed to drive a car again."

Walt's attorney, Paul Patricoski, was unavailable for comment late Friday.