The sheriff has released photos of the truck wanted for fatally striking a Waukegan teenager on a motorcycle and fleeing the scene in Beach Park, leaving the victim to die.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Beach Park Fire Department responded around 5:50 a.m. Sunday to the area of Green Bay Road and Sallmon Avenue in Beach Park for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said a 911 caller reported a motorcycle down and the rider was also down off the roadway.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and located the crash with the driver of the motorcycle deceased.
An autopsy performed Monday showed that Adrian Rogel-Villanueva, 19, of Waukegan, died as a result of blunt force injuries from a vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Technical Crash Investigations Team responded to the scene to conduct an investigation.
The Kawasaki sports bike Rogel-Villanueva was riding had damage consistent with being struck by another vehicle, Covelli said.
No other vehicles were at the scene and investigators identified the suspect vehicle as a maroon 2017 GMC Sierra pickup truck.
Covelli said the GMC is believed to be currently in a garage or at a body repair shop.
The GMC would have front-end damage and damage to the passenger side.
Crash investigators believe the owner removed the license plates so it is possible it has no plates or plates that do not match the vehicle, Covelli said.
The GMC previously had two decals on the top of the rear window but those may have been removed by the owner.
“Flock safety cameras played a significant role in helping develop leads in this fatal hit-and-run traffic crash,” Covelli said.
The sheriff’s office released photos of the actual vehicle involved in the crash on Saturday.
Anyone with information about the location of the vehicle or about the crash is asked to call sheriff’s crash investigators at 847-377-4000 or submit a tip online.
Rogel-Villanueva’s brother, Bryan Rogel, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that his family is seeking help from the community with tips on the suspect in the case.
The victim’s cousin, Guadalupe Osorio, said Rogel-Villanueva was “a light in everyone’s life” and the “smartest person I have ever met.”
“Adrian would always make you laugh or make you smile even if he was the one who was down. He always thought about everyone first and tried his best to make his family happy,” Osorio said.
“Only 19 years old, with so much potential and opportunities ahead of him, that got taken away too soon. He didn’t get the opportunity to experience life as a whole or see what the world had to offer,” Osorio added.
Rogel-Villanueva leaves behind three younger siblings, his parents and a dog. A funeral service was held on Thursday in Waukegan.
“Adrian was a dreamer who always achieved his goals. He was very cheerful, fearless, and above all, a good son, brother, and friend. He was always looking out for others,” his obituary said.
A GoFundMe account to help the family raise money for funeral expenses has collected almost $10,000.