CARBONDALE — A Carbondale man was sentenced Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court for reckless homicide.

Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr says 57-year-old Gary L. Starks entered a guilty plea for the charge of reckless homicide, a class 3 felony, resulting from a traffic incident that happened near Attucks Park in Carbondale on August 13, 2018.

On that day Starks was driving his vehicle on a road adjacent to Attucks Park, located on North Wall Street in Carbondale, at 60 mph in a posted 30 mph speed limit at a time when people and children were present, when he struck and killed a five-year-old child who was crossing the roadway.

Starks was sentenced to serve 30 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by a one year period of Mandatory Supervised Release.

The investigation was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department. State’s Attorney Michael Carr and Assistant State’s Attorney Luke Palmer were responsible for the prosecution.