A Zion man has been charged after investigators say he was driving under the influence and ran a red light, causing a crash that left a victim in critical condition in Wadsworth.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Newport Fire Protection District responded around 4:15 p.m. on February 18 to the intersection of Route 41 and Route 173 in Wadsworth.
Sheriff’s deputies responding to a call of a vehicle crash with injuries found two vehicles involved with major damage.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at the time that a Nissan Altima was traveling westbound on Route 173.
Covelli said the Nissan, driven by Vic Solomon, 46, of Zion, was driving recklessly and at a high rate of speed, according to witnesses.
Solomon ran the red light at Route 41 and t-boned a southbound Ford F-150, Covelli said.
A 42-year-old Zion man, who was driving the Ford, suffered life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Ford was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in critical condition, Covelli said.
The Ford had a front-seat passenger and two back-seat passengers.
The three passengers, which included a 50-year-old Zion woman, a 12-year-old Zion boy and a 10-year-old Zion girl, were treated at the scene.
The three of them did not require transport to the hospital, Covelli said.
Solomon and a front seat passenger in his Nissan, a 50-year-old woman of Zion, were both transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
They suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit conducted a thorough investigation and determined Solomon was driving under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, Covelli said.
Crash investigators reviewed the evidence with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and the case was presented to a grand jury last week.
The grand jury issued a true bill of indictment charging Solomon with four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of drugs, two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of the combination of alcohol and drugs and six counts of aggravated reckless driving.
Solomon is scheduled to appear in court on January 31 for an arraignment hearing.