Judge sentences teen who caused Columbia High soccer player’s death in DUI crash
A Columbia teenager received a nine-year prison sentence for driving under the influence and causing a crash that killed a Columbia High School student just over a year ago in Monroe County.
Trevor Stawizynski, 17, pleaded guilty in July to a charge of aggravated DUI/causing a death and was sentenced on Wednesday, according to Monroe County court records. He will be required to serve 85% of the nine-year sentence. Two other charges – aggravated DUI/crash with bodily harm and reckless homicide – were dismissed.
Crawford Bryant, who was a 15-year-old sophomore and soccer player at Columbia High School, died in the single-vehicle crash on Sept. 1, 2024, on Hanover Road about a quarter mile west of Illinois 3, authorities said. Shortly before the crash, a Waterloo police officer had seen the vehicle going at a “high rate of speed” on Illinois 3, according to an Illinois State Police news release last year.
On the one-year anniversary of Bryant’s death on Sept. 1, family members, friends and classmates gathered at the high school’s athletic field in honor of the teen.
“It was a touching reminder of the strength of our community and the lasting mark Crawford left on all of us,” the school said in a Facebook post. “His memory continues to inspire and bring us together.”
Bryant’s obituary said he “accomplished so much” in his short lifetime.
“Crawford brought immeasurable joy and light into our lives with his kind heart, radiant smile, boundless curiosity, and carefree approach to and for life,” his obituary said.
Stawizynski, who was the driver in a single-vehicle crash that left Bryant dead, was remanded to a juvenile detention center. When he turns 18 next August, the Illinois Department of Corrections may transfer him “at its sole discretion to an appropriate adult facility,” according to a sentencing order by Circuit Judge Chris Hitzemann.
Neither Justin Kuehn, a Belleville attorney who represented Stawizynski, nor Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb could be reached for comment.
The Republic-Times in Waterloo reported that two lawsuits filed against Stawizynski have been consolidated.
One is a wrongful death case from the Bryant family and the other is for a passenger who suffered “severe and permanent injuries – including nerve, bone, spine, vertebrae and brain damage,” according to court records cited by the Republic-Times.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 4:18 PM.