Suspect in fatal Fremont Township DUI crash arrested trying to flee to Guatemala, police say

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Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Suspect in Lake Couty DUI crash captured on coach bus, police say
A north suburban man suspected in a deadly DUI car crash that killed two women has been captured, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.\t

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A north suburban man suspected in a deadly DUI car crash that killed two women has been captured after trying to flee to Guatemala, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.

On June 8, the sheriff's office said Victor Ortiz, 51, of Round Lake Beach, was driving a Ford E350 on Fairfield Road north of Route 60 in Fremont Township when he crossed into the northbound lanes and struck a Honda Odyssey and a Kia Forte.

Two women in the Kia, 64-year-old Sandra Forscht of Round Lake Beach and 56-year-old Barbara Gaulke from Ingleside, were killed in the crash.

The sheriff's office said it received test results showing Ortiz was drunk at the time of the crash. After receiving a tip that Ortiz was heading to Texas and then on to Guatemala, an arrest warrant was issued Saturday for Ortiz on four counts of aggravated driving under the influence and two counts of reckless homicide.

Ortiz was found on a coach bus in Chicago on I-57 near 111th Street and taken into custody. He is being held in Cook County Jail pending extradition to Lake County.