Savoy man sentenced for viral hit-and-run outside U of I bar

SAVOY, Ill. (WCIA) — A man from Savoy has been sentenced to both jail time and probation for a hit-and-run incident outside a University of Illinois bar that went viral two years ago .

Brendan Trumann, 21 of Savoy, was sentenced on Thursday to one month of jail time and a concurrent 30 months of probation. A jury convicted him in November of aggravated DUI involving great bodily harm, aggravated reckless driving and aggravated leaving the scene of an accident involving injury.

The jury also acquitted him of aggravated battery involving great bodily harm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public place. The Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office also dismissed an attempted murder charge before the trial.

The charges stemmed from an incident outside of Joe’s Brewery the morning of June 26, 2022. Much of what happened was caught on camera and it was widely circulated on social media.

Just before closing time at 2 in the morning, then 19-year-old Trumann was told to leave the bar by employee Michael Waltz, after Trumann was disturbing other customers. Waltz told WCIA at the time that Trumann “flipped out,” made threats to “shoot the place up” and then pulled out what looked like a gun and started pointing it at others.

As police were called, Trumann got into his Dodge Charger and started driving erratically in the street in front of Joe’s. Myelz Davis, a friend of Trumann’s from Gibson City, walked up to the driver-side window and started talking to Trumann to calm him down and discourage him from driving. A fight subsequently broke out and another man, Devin Espeland , punched Davis in the face and knocked him to the ground.

Trumann subsequently drove away from the bar, running over Davis twice in the process. Davis suffered three jaw fractures, a traumatic brain injury and road rash all over his body.

After leaving Joe’s, Trumann crashed his car at Mt. Hope Cemetary on campus, crashing through a fence and damaging several headstones. Police found the car abandoned with a realistic-looking BB gun inside.

Police tracked Trumann down to his apartment in Savoy and arrested him. He admitted to driving the car, they said.

At sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors asked for a six-year sentence, citing Trumann’s dishonestly during testimony and a lack of remorse on his part. His defense team argued for probation, which is ultimately what he got.

There are several other conditions that Trumann was abide by as part of his sentence: abstinence from drugs and alcohol, electronic monitoring whenever he leaves Illinois and 100 hours of community service.

Espeland, meanwhile, was charged with aggravated battery in a public place and pleaded guilty in June. He was sentenced to two years of probation.

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