The coroner has released the identity of a 70-year-old man who died after he lost control of his car, crashed into a guardrail and was found unconscious in Round Lake.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District and Round Lake Police Department responded around 11:40 a.m. on September 6 to Cedar Lake Road and Hart Road in Round Lake for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Round Lake Police Chief David Prus said the single-vehicle crash occurred in the intersection.
A Chevrolet Cruze was driving eastbound on Hart Road and proceeded through the intersection at Cedar Lake Road.
The driver failed to stop and collided into the guardrail on the east side of the roadway, Prus said.
Officers arrived and found the driver, who was the sole occupant of the Chevrolet, unconscious.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton identified the driver as Robert Krause, 70, of Round Lake.
Paramedics transported Krause to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Krause died in the intensive care unit on Friday, nearly two weeks after the incident.
Prus said there were no signs of impairment at the scene from Krause and no other vehicles were involved.
It appeared Krause suffered a medical event that caused him to lose control of the car, Prus said.
Newton said a cause of death is still pending but Krause appears to have died from his injuries sustained in the crash.
Sheli Ptak of Park Inn in Round Lake Park said Krause was a “great friend” and regular customer at the establishment.
“He was a quiet man but I have had many conversations with him. To me he was intriguing, smart, his love for music was phenomenal. His love of his yearly trips to Mexico were something he looked forward to all year and I loved hearing his stories and seeing his pictures when he returned,” Ptak said.
“We shared a real love for comic books. I am going to miss seeing Robert. I often came right after work just to say hello to him. My life was better with him in it,” she said.