Charges expected after fatal Wauconda crash

A 47-year-old man remains in custody after police said his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit when he caused an accident Sunday night that killed a motorcyclist in Wauconda.

The man, whose name is being withheld until charges are filed, will at the minimum be charged with reckless homicide and most likely additional charges Tuesday morning, according to police.

Gregory Homola, 55, of Lake Geneva, Wis., was pronounced dead shortly after smashing into the side of the Ford Explorer which had pulled out of a parking lot on Route 176 just west of Anderson Road.

Witnesses said the driver of the Ford pulled straight out of the lot without yielding to traffic at about 5:07 p.m., according to police. After being struck by the eastbound motorcycle, the Ford continued and struck a Hyundai in the westbound lanes of Route 176.

“We are working with the state’s attorney on charges,” said Wauconda Detective Dustin Buffington. “He was taken directly to the hospital where there was a blood draw.”

Buffington said the man’s blood-alcohol level was at 0.28.

Two people inside the Hyundai were also injured in the crash and were treated at Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry. Their conditions were not known Monday.

The driver of the Ford spent Sunday night in the hospital, but was released to police custody Monday afternoon where he spent the night while prosecutors determined what charges could be filed, Buffington said.

Results of an autopsy on Homola were not available Monday afternoon, but Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey said the man was not wearing a helmet when the crash occurred. He was pronounced dead at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington at approximately 6 p.m. due to multiple injuries suffered in the crash.

The Ford Explorer was registered to a Round Lake address, according to police.