DUI Suspect Charged In Villa Park Death: Cops

VILLA PARK, IL – A drunken-driving suspect has been arrested in connection with Sunday's death of a man in a crash in Villa Park, authorities said.

Luis Guzman Alvarez, 49, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated DUI causing death.

The victim was identified as 69-year-old Jose Orizaba.

Shortly after 7:30 a.m., Orizaba was headed east on St. Charles Road approaching the traffic signal at Villa Avenue, according to a news release from DuPage County prosecutors.

Orizaba entered the intersection on a green light. At the same time, Guzman Alvarez, who was speeding, ran the red light on Villa and crashed into Orizaba, forcing the victim's car into a gas station parking lot, police said.

Officers removed Orizaba from his car using the Jaws of Life and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later, police said.

Guzman Alvarez was taken to a hospital and then released.

Guzman Alvarez's blood-alcohol level was .374, nearly five times the legal limit, according to the news release. In Guzman Alvarez's car, officers said they found two small open bottles of Jose Cuervo, a small bottle of premixed margaritas and a small bottle of premixed daiquiri in his car.

Police said Guzman Alvarez was speeding 46 mph in a 30 mph zone when he crashed.

"Like all alleged DUI cases, the case against Mr. Guzman Alvarez was 100% avoidable," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. "I offer my sincerest condolences to Jose Orizaba’s family and friends as they grieve and attempt to adjust to their new lives without the love and friendship Jose once provided. As I have said countless times in the past, if you have been drinking, do not drive. With ride-sharing services available with just the touch of a finger at any time day or night, there is absolutely no reason to drive after you have been drinking."

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden denied prosecutors' request to jail Guzman Alvarez before the trial. As a condition of his release, the suspect will be fitted with a secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring device. He is barred from driving.