PEORIA, Ill. — 43-year-old Jerome Polnitz was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday for a deadly street racing crash that killed four young women last fall.
Prosecutors in the case had asked for a 10-year sentence for Polnitz, who pleaded guilty to his involvement in the crash in August.
Police were called to the Peoria County Courthouse after Polnitz’ sentence was read, to maintain the peace among a crowd of people including the victims’ family members.
After his release from prison, Polnitz must serve a year on parole.
According to Peoria Police, Polnitz was street racing with another vehicle that crashed into a tree at Washington and Darst Streets on September 27, 2020.
Four Manual High School students were killed; 22-year-old Jazzman Burns, 18-year-old Diamond Williams, 19-year-old Quanylan Thomas and 18-year-old Tyesha Thomas.
