North Chicago teen killed in Waukegan crash

A 16-year-old North Chicago resident was killed after crashing his vehicle into a tree in Waukegan during the early morning hours Wednesday, police said.

Justin Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene after he was partially ejected from the vehicle when it struck a tree on the 700 block of Fulton Avenue about 2:45 a.m., according to police.

A 17-year-old male passenger in the vehicle was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

An autopsy completed late Wednesday afternoon concluded Ortega died of multiple internal injuries, but toxicology tests are pending, said Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey.

“We believe that speed was a factor, but we don’t have any indication that alcohol was a factor,” Yancey said.

The force of the high-speed collision split the vehicle in half, sending the front half into a front yard where it came to rest upside down, while the rear half came to rest against the front of a neighboring house, according to police.

The Waukegan Police Department Major Traffic Accident Unit continues to investigate the crash.