A jury found a man guilty Thursday afternoon on multiple counts of driving under the influence in a 2020 rollover crash in Round Lake that left two of his passengers dead.
Jose S. Aguirre, 30, of Round Lake Beach, was found guilty late Thursday afternoon on nine counts of aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 2 felony.
On September 27, 2020, at around 3:20 a.m., a Round Lake police officer attempted to stop Aguirre for speeding in his white Chevrolet Traverse, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Aguirre refused to stop and the officer briefly chased him but terminated the pursuit when the Chevrolet reached speeds of over 120 mph in a 45-mph zone.
Shortly after, the officer came upon the Chevrolet which had crashed into a wooded area and rolled over near Route 134 and Main Street in Round Lake, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Juan Renteria-Becerra, 34, and Edgar Herrera, 30, were both passengers in the Chevrolet and were pronounced dead at the scene.
A third passenger – Jorge Trevino, 32 – sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Aguirre was seriously injured and was flown by a medical helicopter to the hospital.
“The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) determined Aguirre was the driver of the vehicle and was traveling at speeds over 110 mph when Aguirre lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, and entered in the wooded area striking several trees and rolling over before coming to a rest on its roof,” the state’s attorney’s office said.
An arrest warrant was issued for Aguirre in October 2021.
After avoiding apprehension for over a year, police finally arrested the man in late December 2022.
Aguirre has been held in the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond.
The bond was set before the SAFE-T Act went into effect.
A jury trial at the Lake County Courthouse began on Monday and lasted for four days.
“Jurors heard from different state witnesses, including an accident reconstruction expert and law enforcement officers, who explained how the collision occurred and the physical state of the defendant at the time of the accident,” the state’s attorney’s office said.
“The defendant chose to testify on the last day of the trial and denied being the driver of the vehicle, although eyewitnesses testified to seeing Aguirre get into the driver’s seat and expert witnesses testified that the injuries Aguirre sustained from the crash were consistent with Aguirre being the driver,” the office added.
The trial concluded late afternoon on Thursday.
The jury returned guilty verdicts against Aguirre on the nine counts of aggravated DUI.
After the verdict, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said, “We will continue to hold dangerous and intoxicated drivers responsible for their criminal, dangerous, and immoral acts.”
“This is a preventable tragedy, and all parts of our community must continue to raise awareness about how wrong and reckless intoxicated driving is. Our team of prosecutors helped bring justice to these families, and we will always support them,” Rinehart said.
Aguirre is next scheduled to appear in court on July 15 for a status hearing.