Lake County Gazette

Lake County Sheriff's deputies have apprehended a man alleged to be the driver in a hit-and-run incident that occurred Friday afternoon in Beach Park. The collision involved a 70-year-old driver and resulted in injuries to both her and a passenger from the vehicle at fault, necessitating their transport to a local hospital.

According to a news release, deputies responded to an emergency call at 3:30 p.m. on April 25, regarding a traffic accident with injuries at North Avenue and West Mawman Avenue in Beach Park. Four of the five occupants of the vehicle responsible for the crash reportedly fled on foot before law enforcement arrived.

The preliminary investigation, as detailed in the release, indicates that Gilberto Santiago Jr., 43, from Round Lake Park, was driving a Mitsubishi Outlander southbound on North Avenue when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane. This maneuver led to a collision with a Nissan Versa driven by a 70-year-old woman from Zion. The impact caused one of the Mitsubishi's rear doors to open, resulting in a back seat passenger falling out and sustaining serious injuries. Both this passenger and the Nissan driver were transported to an area hospital.

Further details from the release state that sheriff's deputies established a perimeter around the crash site to locate Santiago Jr. and other fleeing individuals. With assistance from Waukegan Police Department's K9 team and Libertyville Police Department's drone operator, Santiago was found along with one other Mitsubishi passenger; neither sustained injuries. However, additional passengers who fled remained unaccounted for despite extensive search efforts.

The release further reports that Santiago appeared heavily intoxicated upon arrest and was subsequently taken to Lake County Jail. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office reviewed the case and approved charges against Santiago including aggravated DUI (class 2 felony), driving while license revoked (class 3 felony), aggravated DUI while driving on a revoked license, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries (all class 4 felonies). It is noted that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.