The coroner has identified two Lake County men who were killed after the car they were in fled from police and crashed at a high rate of speed in Round Lake on Sunday.
An autopsy showed that Juan Renteria-Becerra, 34, of Mundelein, and Edgar Herrera, 30, of Round Lake Beach, both died from injuries due to blunt force trauma, according to Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper.
According to police radio traffic, a Round Lake police officer attempted to stop a speeding vehicle around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
The vehicle refused to stop and speeds were reported to be in excess of 100 mph, the officer reported.
The officer terminated the brief chase and a short time later came upon the vehicle, which had crashed into a wooded area near Route 134 and Main Street in Round Lake.
Cooper said that Renteria-Becerra and Herrera were passengers in the vehicle, which had two other occupants at the time of the crash.
Renteria-Becerra and Herrera were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Another occupant of the car was flown by a medical helicopter to a hospital with serious injuries. Their current condition was not released.
A fourth occupant in the car was transported to a local hospital by ambulance with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
“We have been in close contact with Mr. Herrera’s and Mr. Renteria-Becerra’s family and our deepest condolences go out to them during this difficult time. This is truly a tragedy,” Cooper said.
The Round Lake Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) and Round Lake Police Department.