Driver charged with DUI after killing Wauconda High School teacher in head-on Wheeling crash: police

WHEELING, Ill. (WLS) -- A driver has been charged with DUI after killing a high school teacher in a head-on collision earlier this month in the north suburbs.

Guillermo Salgado, a 29-year-old man from Palatine, appeared in court Thursday and has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI, Wheeling police said.

The teacher, who was killed in Dec. 10 in Wheeling, was identified as Robert Gillen.

Police said the crash happened at 2:15 a.m. on East Palatine Road near Wheeling Road.

Salgado was intoxicated while driving eastbound on Palatine Road when he traveled into the westbound lanes, striking an oncoming vehicle and killing Gillen, police said.

Wauconda Community Unit School District #118 said Gillen was a math teacher at Wauconda High School.

READ MORE | Wauconda High School teacher killed in head-on crash remembered as 'caring, dedicated'

Wheeling police and the Northwest Suburban Major Case Assistance Team's Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Unit investigated the crash.

Salgado is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 24 for his next hearing.