Dozens of family members of Garry and Leah Kelly filled the courtroom at the Henry County Courthouse on Thursday. Folding chairs were brought in for extra seating. They had all come to see justice done for the Moline couple killed in a vehicular crash that happened almost two years over Labor Day weekend.
On Sept. 5, 2021, a motorcycle, operated by Garry Kelly, Moline, was struck by a white Malibu, driven by Jerni Warner. His wife, Leah, was the passenger. Both were 42 years old and were pronounced dead at the scene.
During a fully negotiated plea hearing in Henry County Circuit Court, Henry County State’s Attorney Catherine Runty, read the details of the agreement. Warner, who was charged with two counts of Aggravated DUI, agreed to plead guilty to one count. In return, the State agreed to drop one count of Aggravated DUI, along with two traffic citations. The agreement called for a sentence of 14 years in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. She will serve 85 percent of that sentence or 10 years.
Along with the sentence, Warner will receive two years of mandatory supervised release, along with a $15,000 fine and assessments. She will also be required to pay for the 314 days she was confined in the Mary Davis Home. That total is over $39,000 and is assessed to Warner’s parents.
During the hearing, family members were allowed to make victim impact statements. As Jennifer Kelly’s statement was read into the record by S.A. Runty, crying from members of the Kellys’ family could be heard in the courtroom.
Jennifer Kelly is the sister of Garry Kelly. In her statement, she described the moment she learned about her brother’s and sister-in-law’s death.
Kelly called that day the “worst day of her life,” and recalled moments of her brother’s life that she will miss.
“Our world shattered that day,” Runty read from Kelly’s statement.
Kelly’s statement told of how she visited the crash site several times after Sept. 5, trying to make sense of what happened.
“I was angry, very angry,” her statement read. Kelly said that she had always imagined what her brother would be like as an old man, but he’ll never get to grow old, she said.
While Kelly said she holds Warner responsible, she also holds Warner’s parents accountable.
“Judge, I know we’ve reached a plea deal but that doesn’t mean I am happy about it.”
Garry and Leah’s two sons also gave a victim impact statement. Easton, the eldest of the three children, was serving in the US Marine Corps in California when he learned of his parents’ deaths. He had never been to a funeral until he had to attend two, he told the Court.
In his statement, he recalled watching his siblings wash the blood from his parents’ jewelry and how he watched his 15-year-old sister, Grace, crumble and fall apart.
“I called my parents for literally anything,” he said, for both problems and achievements, and now he had no one to call.
“I will never forgive you for that,” he said. “This sentencing does not pay your debt. It never will for as long as you live.”
His brother, Tristan, also took the stand and talked about his parents, calling his mother the epitome of selflessness and kindness. His father, he said, was “a beacon of joy and inclusivity.”
He spoke about the last time he saw his parents and how if he had realized that it was his last encounter, he would have hugged them and told them he loved them.
“This was not an accident. Jerni Warner is not a victim,” he said.
Leah Kelly’s older sister, Jennifer Adame, also offered a victim’s impact statement. Leah was her baby sister, she said, talking directly to Warner.
“She has zero patience for the antics of able-bodied individuals, but for the differently-abled, the elderly, for small children- for them, she had the patience of a saint,” she said.
Garry, she said, was mischievous and always had a twinkle in his eye, and orange Lifesavers in his pocket that he was willing to share.”
Life wasn’t easy for the couple, Adame said. They struggled, but when they found each other, they grew.
Their lives are over, she told Warner. “The lives of all who knew them changed forever. You wanted a furlough to attend your grandmother’s funeral. Leah and Garry will never attend another function.”
But she told Warner, “Your life isn’t over. You’ll have more years left when you get out than they were ever given. Make it mean something. Spend your life trying to fill the void you created. It won’t bring them back to us, nothing will. Nothing can heal the damage you’ve caused, the trauma that will haunt us the rest of our lives. But it’s the only thing that will bring one ounce of justice. Live your life. Live it well. Be the best possible person you can.”
Jonathan Hawk, the driver of the third car involved in the crash that day also took the stand to tell how Warner’s actions had impacted his family. Hawk was driving a black SUV that ended up overturned in a ditch. His family, including his five children, were in the car with him that day.
“The effects on my family pale in comparison to what you did to the Kelly family,” he said, addressing Warner.
On that Sunday, Hawk said he watched as Warner’s vehicle crossed over the centerline and headed straight towards Kelly’s motorcycle. He watched and waited for her Malibu to veer back, but it never did.
His car ended up in a ditch and he recalled his family hanging upside down, still fastened in their seat belts. He remembered the smell of gas. Once he was able to get loose of his seatbelt, Hawk said he was forced to crawl past his wife and children. His one-month old baby was in the car seat and wasn’t moving.
“All the time, I was thinking a fire could start at any moment,” he said.
It wasn’t until someone came up to the window and offered help that he was able to get his family out of the seat restraints. They were all able to crawl out the back window, but his one-month-old infant suffered a concussion, and the trauma of the day had a lasting impact on his children, he said.
He told Warner that he remembered how she behaved at the hospital. Hawk said she was laughing, joking and smiling.
“Maybe you were still drunk or high,” he told her. “Maybe you didn’t know that you had just killed two people, or maybe you didn’t care.
Hawk told her he could forgive her for what she did to his family, “but I can’t forgive you for what you did to others.”
Warner was allowed to give an unsworn statement. Through most of the hearing, her face had remained expressionless, but during her statement, Warner broke down and through tears, apologized to the Kelly children and the Hawks.
“I never intended for this to happen,” Warner said. “I was a 17-year-old who made a life-altering choice. I am so sorry. I will carry this with me forever.”
Before the hearing, Jennifer Kelly expressed unhappiness with the coming sentence, but she said the family agreed because of the uncertainty of what the judge might do.
She has applied with the State of Illinois for a sign to be placed near the crash site where Garry and Leah died. The sign will warn people about the dangers of drinking and driving. Two plaques bearing their names will also be placed there. She is waiting for the State to approve the sign and plaques, which will remain at the site for two years. The plaques will then be returned to her, she said.
But her family will never be the same without Garry and Leah. And whether her brother and sister-in-law really got justice isn’t clear.
“I don’t really think there is justice,” she said. “We’ve learned a lot about the Justice System.”
**This copy has been edited to reflect the statement from Leah Kelly’s sister, Jennifer Adame.
