Lake County Gazette

A Wisconsin man died after the stolen Lexus GS400 he was driving collided with a GMC Yukon in unincorporated Zion on July 6. The driver and passengers of the Yukon sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

According to a Lake County Sheriff's Office press release, Pleasant Prairie Police Department officers attempted to stop the driver, a 32-year-old Salem, Wisconsin, man. The driver fled at a high rate of speed. Pleasant Prairie Police successfully deployed a tire-deflating device in the Kilbourne Road and Russell Road area near Russell. Despite the deflated tire, the suspect continued to drive recklessly and fast. Officers discontinued the chase near Kilbourne Road and Hickory Road in Zion. The release stated that he ignored a stop light at Kilbourne Road and Route 173.

The driver of the stolen vehicle was the only person who died in the crash, according to another Lake County Sheriff's Office press release. A 51-year-old Waukegan man sitting in the Yukon's front passenger seat sustained critical injuries and was taken to an area hospital. The Yukon's driver, a 30-year-old Waukegan man, along with passengers in the back of the vehicle—a 20-year-old Waukegan woman, a 28-year-old Waukegan man, a 15-year-old Waukegan boy, a 15-year-old Montgomery girl, an 11-year-old Waukegan girl, and an 8-year-old Waukegan girl—suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Several victims were taken to area hospitals.

The Lake County Coroner's Office is scheduling an autopsy for the Lexus driver, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family. At the time of his death, he had a revoked driver's license, an active arrest warrant in Lake County for possession of methamphetamine, and was suspected in several area burglaries.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Technical Crash Investigations team.