A single blow to the head last July initially robbed computer consultant Bill Dybas of his ability to walk, talk, hear and see. For weeks, he didn’t know who his own family was.
On Monday, the Streamwood teenager who delivered the blow was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty last month to a charge of aggravated battery.
But if Jason Hill, 17, qualifies for and completes a four-month boot camp program, he will not have to go to prison, prosecutors said.
Dybas, 51, was severely injured when he was struck in the head while trying to defuse a quarrel. He was hurt so badly that today he is having to re-learn how to write his name. Mounting medical bills have left the Dybas family near financial ruin.
The incident began July 15, when Dybas, a friend of Hill’s mother, was visiting the Hill home to replace a part on their outdoor swimming pool. Nearby, Jason Hill was having a loud argument with one of his mother’s female friends.
Dybas walked over to Hill and asked him to calm down, authorities said. As Dybas turned around to go back to the pool, Hill struck Dybas once on the left side of his head, prosecutors said.
Witnesses said Hill punched Dybas with his fist, but Dybas’ wife says doctors question whether a fist could have inflicted the kind of injury Dybas suffered. The blow cracked Dybas’ skull and drove bone splinters into his brain.
Five months later, Dybas has regained his hearing, sight and ability to walk, though none of those capabilities are where they were before the fight.
In addition, the part of the brain that controls language-processing was severely damaged. So Dybas, of Hoffman Estates, has to learn all over again how to read and write. He has trouble understanding and trouble being understood.
“On a good day, he can kind of get across what he wants to say,” said Dybas’ wife, Patti, a real estate broker.
She said her husband had a near-genius IQ before the incident, and was just getting his computer consulting business off the ground. The Dybases have five grown children.
Veterans benefits are paying for Dybas’ rehabilitation, but none of the hospital costs incurred before then are covered. So the Dybases, who do not have medical insurance, are hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and may have to file for bankruptcy.
During his sentencing hearing, Hill apologized briefly to the victim and his family before being sentenced by Cook County Associate Judge Pamela Karahalios in the Rolling Meadows courthouse.
Hill’s attorney had argued for probation, saying that although the incident was unfortunate, it was isolated, and Hill has no adult criminal record.
“He’s not a bad kid,” Nick Lagattuta said. “He just has a temper.”
Several of Bill Dybas’ relatives attended the hearing. Patti Dybas was frustrated with the sentence, but thankful at least that her husband is alive and making progress.
“I truly hope this young man learns how to control his temper,” Patti Dybas said through tears, “because I don’t want another family to end up where we are.”
