Driver In Fatal Fremont Township Crash Arrested: Lake Co. Sheriff

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A Round Lake Beach man accused of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in a June 8 Fremont Township crash was arrested in Chicago Saturday on a warrant, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported in a release Tuesday. According to the release, sheriff's office crash investigators got the blood and urine chemical test results of Victor H. Ortiz, 51, of the 1400 block of Kildeer Drive. According to police, the results showed Ortiz was driving under the influence of alcohol during the time of the three vehicle, head-on crash at Fairfield Road, just north of Route 60.

After receiving the results, sheriff's office crash investigators received a tip that Ortiz was planning on fleeing the country and traveling to Guatemala, the release said. Crash investigators secured a warrant for Ortiz's arrest, and on June 29 the warrant for four counts of aggravated DUI (alcohol) and two counts of reckless homicide was signed by a Lake County Judge. The Judge set at a $500,000.00 bond on the warrant, the sheriff's office added.

According to the sheriff's office, crash investigators got information that Ortiz might be on a charter bus traveling to Texas, and eventually Guatemala. Tactical officers from the Chicago Police Department 10th District determined Ortiz was a passenger on a Turimex bus, and located the bus Saturday in the area of I-57 and West 111th Street, the sheriff's office said.

Chicago police arrested Ortiz during a traffic stop, and he's currently being held at the Cook County Jail, pending extradition to Lake County.

“Because of the thorough and fast investigation conducted by Sheriff’s Crash Investigators along with the terrific assistance provided by Chicago Police 010TH District Tactical Officers, we took an offender who killed two people - because he was driving drunk - into custody, before he could flee from the country, Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said, in a release. "I’m pleased the first-step of justice was served for the families of the victims, which was possible because of strong law-enforcement collaboration.”

Two women were killed and another man was injured in the June 8 crash.

Related: Ingleside And Round Lake Women IDd In Fatal Fremont Crash

The women were identified last month by the Lake County Coroner's Office as 56-year-old Barbara Gaulke, of Ingleside, and Sandra Forscht, of Round Lake. According to a release from the coroner's office, preliminary results from an autopsy performed on each of the women indicated Gaulke and Forscht died of injuries from blunt force trauma due to the crash.

The three-vehicle crash happened around 9:05 p.m. when a Ford E350 driven by Ortiz headed south on Fairfield Road north of Route 60, crossed a median and struck the driver's side of a northbound Honda Odyssey. The Honda then hit a northbound Kia Forte head-on, according to a press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The driver of the Kia — now identified as Gaulke — and a front-seat passenger in the Kia —now identified as Forscht — both sustained significant injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Ortiz and the driver of the Honda, a 42-year-old Hainesville man, were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.