Friday, August 17, 2012
Patrick McCormick of Chesterfield, who struck and killed a teacher last year, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation.
Patrick McCormick, 55, of Chesterfield was sentenced to one year in St. Louis County Jail Friday by Associate Circuit Court Judge Thomas Prebil. McCormick pleaded guilty to driving into a teacher's car while he was drunk on August 26, 2011. The one-year jail sentence was for a second-degree assault charge. He was also initially given five years in prison on the manslaughter charge, but the sentence was suspended and he was placed on five years probation. McCormick also must seek alcohol counseling and wear an alcohol monitoring SCRAM bracelet for one year after his release from jail. The head-on crash critically injured Janet Esrock and her teen son Jonathan. Esrock, 50, died two weeks later on September 11. Friends of the Esrock family …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
One Chesterfield resident dead, another to be sentenced over manslaughter guilt.
A 55-year-old Chesterfield man who drove drunk into a teacher's car nearly a year ago, killing her, is due to be sentenced August 17 in St. Louis County court. Patrick McCormick told the courts he was depressed, and no longer working at Saint Louis University Medical Center as director of buildings or grounds, when he pleaded guilty June 22. McCormick drove his car around a curve August 26, 2011 on Wildhorse Creek Road and according to officials, crossed over the center line and crashed into Janet Esrock's car head-on, critically injuring Esrock, and her teen son Jonathan. The mother and son were driving home from a Friday night public high school football game, a game in which Jonathan's buddy and next door neighbor played. Janet Esrock…
Friday, June 22, 2012
August 17 sentencing. Also guilty to assault in connection with injuring passenger.
Prosecutors say a Chesterfield man could face seven years in prison for causing the death of Chesterfield teacher Janet Esrock, when he drove drunk into her car on Wildhorse Creek Road. Patrick J. McCormick, 53, pleaded guilty Friday morning to first-degree involuntary manslaughter involving a DWI and second-degree assault, in St. Louis County Circuit Court. McCormick told the court he was being treated for depression, and no longer worked. He was a facilities director at Saint Louis University Medical Center. McCormick was legally drunk when he drove his car head-on into another on Wildhorse Creek Road August 26, fatally injuring 50-year-old Janet Esrock, a Whitfield School teacher, and seriously injuring her teenage son, Jon Esrock. …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Prosecutor is same as case of Sunset Hills cop who killed four in wrong way DWI crash.
Ten months after police said Chesterfield resident Patrick J. McCormick drove his car head-on into another on Wildhorse Creek Road, killing the driver and injuring her teen son, McCormick is expected to plead guilty Friday in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The court date is set for June 22, 9am in Clayton, 7900 Carondelet Avenue. Chesterfield resident and Whitfield School teacher Janet Esrock died September 11, two weeks after the August 26 crash—having never regained consciousness. Her son, Jonathan Esrock was eventually released from hospital after multiple surgeries, and requiring extensive therapy. Get an update to your inbox, sign up for free Chesterfield Patch newsletter. Click here McCormick, 53, was charged with first-degree …
Monday, April 30, 2012
It's Patrick J. McCormick versus the law, and Janet Esrock's death.
A Chesterfield resident who pleaded "not guilty" to charges of driving drunk and killing a 50-year-old Chesterfield woman and maiming her teenage son, has a new date set for settlement talks, on June 7. Pre-trial talks between Patrick J. McCormick's lawyers and St. Louis County prosecutors have been ongoing at least since November. Police said McCormick, 54, drove drunk into oncoming traffic on Wild Horse Creek Road about 10pm August 26, hitting the car Janet Esrock was driving. Her son Jonathan, 16 at the time, was a passenger. The pair were returning home from a friend's football game. The Esrocks were hospitalized. Janet Esrock never regained consciousness and died September 11. Jon Esrock had multiple surgeries, and eventually returned…
Friday, March 16, 2012
Courts have set an April date with driver in Janet Esrock death.
The accused drunk driver in a Chesterfield car crash that killed teacher Janet Esrock and injured her teen son, has agreed to a settlement hearing April 27 after a series of pre-trial hearings, according to St. Louis County courts. Patrick J. McCormick, 54, a Chesterfield resident, was charged with manslaughter and driving drunk, and assault. Despite the court's change of status in the case, McCormick's attorney Scott Rosenblum told Patch Friday he would not discuss the update. He said simply it was a "pre-trial" event. Get updates with free Chesterfield Patch subscription McCormick was said to have driven an SUV into oncoming traffic along Wildhorse Creek Road at 10pm on August 26, crashing head-on into the sedan driven by Chesterfield …
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Hockey field takes Janet Esrock's name, six months after the Chesterfield resident's death from a car crash on Wildhorse Creek Road.
A little more than six months after her death from injuries in an August car crash on Wildhorse Creek Road, Chesterfield resident Janet Esrock's life was memorialized at Whitfield School as friend, teacher, coach and supporter. The school dedicated its field hockey field in her memory Thursday morning. The school's board of directors authorized the move in November. Interim Head of School Ruth Greathouse told the crowd gathered outside on a beautiful spring morning that the school wanted to give seniors on the field hockey team Esrock coached a chance to play on the field bearing her name. Esrock, a Ladue High School graduate who lived in Chesterfield, also coached girls basketball and soccer at the school. She died September 11, after …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
St. Louis University High School's online news carried the football player's story, written by Nathan Rubbelke.
A teen neighbor of Chesterfield teacher Janet Esrock played in the football game Esrock was returning home from the night of the car crash that ultimately took her life. The teen is a junior at St. Louis University High School and offensive lineman on the football team, Alec Abeln. He shared his story with his school's Prep News online, shortly after the untimely death of his "second mom." Esrock, 50, and her son Jonathan Esrock, 16, were critically injured August 27 on Wildhorse Creek Road in Chesterfield, driving home from a Parkway North vs. SLUH football game when a car driven by Patrick McCormick struck their car head-on. Janet Esrock died two weeks later, never regaining consciousness. Her son is recovering from multiple injuries. …
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Whitfield School will have a March 15 dedication ceremony.
Field hockey at Whitfield School will be played on Janet Esrock Memorial Field after a March 15 ceremony, the school announced Thursday. Esrock, a Chesterfield resident, died from injuries in a car crash just minutes from home on Wildhorse Creek Road, in August. Her son, a Whitfield student, was seriously injured in the crash but survived. Esrock was a field hockey coach and math teacher at the private school in Creve Coeur. In a statement released by the school announcing the dedication ceremony, Interim Head of School Ruth Greathouse said: "She was concerned about every student's success both in and out of the classroom. . .Janet’s unwavering commitment to excellence was also evident in her coaching, through which she inspired her …
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Chesterfield man charged in the manslaughter of Chesterfield teacher Janet Esrock is out on bail and free of court dates for a month.
A 53-year-old Chesterfield man charged in the manslaughter of Chesterfield teacher Janet Esrock had his pre-trial conference continued or postponed until after the year-end holidays. Patrick J. McCormick is out on bail after a DUI crash into Esrock's sedan killed her and seriously injured her 16-year-old son Jon Esrock, on August 26. Police said McCormick was drunk when he drove his truck into oncoming traffic on Wildhorse Horse Creek Road, August 26. The next court date is January 20, 2012, 9 a.m., in St. Louis County Circuit Court, Division 17, 7900 Carondolet in Clayton. McCormick pleaded not guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault in St. Louis County Circuit Court. Bail was initially $100,000 but he …
Leon McKinney, Jr
9:11 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
I should have added that I wasn't necessarily advocating the death penalty for the drunk driver killer, but 9 months and 13 days is a damn joke - it's a waste of MY tax dollars to pay for a system that produces such disgusting outcomes. Let me also add that Judge Prebil should lose a loved one and have to watch as the killer also gets a puny sentence - 9 months and 13 days sounds right to me! more ›