A man has been charged with attempted murder after prosecutors say he intentionally crashed a car into a tree, leaving a young child critically injured and being flown to the hospital, in Waukegan.
Armando Cruz-Salazar, 25, of Waukegan, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, two counts of failure to report a crash involving injury, aggravated reckless driving and two counts of failure to remain at scene of a crash involving injury.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said Cruz-Salazar got into the driver’s seat of a vehicle around 12:30 p.m. on November 6, 2021.
His girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, was in the front passenger seat holding a child and another child was in the rear passenger seat.
Cruz-Salazar became upset and began driving at a high rate of speed and the girlfriend told him to stop, Shepherd said.
Shepherd said Cruz-Salazar continued to drive and hit his girlfriend in the face before saying he was going to kill someone in the vehicle.
Cruz-Salazar drove through a fence and into a tree and then fled the scene on foot.
Shepherd said the girlfriend was trapped in the vehicle when first responders arrived. Bystanders removed the children from the vehicle.
The children and the woman were transported to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan for treatment.
One of the children suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown to Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She suffered a skull fracture, injury to her brain and injuries to both of her lungs, Shepherd said.
The woman, who suffered a fractured femur and other injuries, told investigators that she and Cruz-Salazar had started arguing while in the car and the child began crying.
While she was comforting the child, Cruz-Salazar became angry and struck her across the face, Shepherd said.
Cruz-Salazar began driving and said, “I’m going to kill us both” before he crashed into the tree, Shepherd said.
Investigators processed the vehicle for evidence and obtained DNA from the driver’s side which linked Cruz-Salazar as the driver.
Shepherd said Cruz-Salazar was on probation at the time of the incident for a substantial battery charge and theft charge out of Wisconsin. The sentence included a stayed prison sentence.
Cruz-Salazar later texted his girlfriend that he fled the scene because he knew he would be going to prison if he stayed at the scene, Shepherd said.
Court records show that charges were filed against Cruz-Salazar on October 23 — nearly three years after the crash — and an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Cruz-Salazar was arrested last month and taken into the custody of the Lake County Jail.
“The defendant drove a motor vehicle with the intent to kill the passengers and himself in the car irregardless of any other driver that would have been on the road that day,” Shepherd said in asking for Cruz-Salazar to be detained pending trial.
A public defender for Cruz-Salazar said his client has six young children — with the oldest being six years old.
The public defender said Cruz-Salazar hit a pothole while arguing with his girlfriend which caused him to lose control and crash.
Lake County Judge James Newman granted a petition to detain Cruz-Salazar pending trial.
Cruz-Salazar is scheduled to appear in court again on February 26 for a case management hearing.