Police still seeking driver in Aurora hit-and-run
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The owner of the vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run Monday in Aurora has been missing since the accident, and police said Wednesday they are seeking the public's help in locating him.
Gustavo Villarreal, 44, of the 1600 block of Dearborn Avenue in an unincorporated area near Aurora, owns the 1997 Chevrolet GEO Metro that struck and killed a Des Plaines woman on Church Road near Corporate Boulevard, authorities said.
Villarreal has not been seen or heard from since the accident at 5:33 p.m. Monday, and his family reported him missing Tuesday to the Kane County sheriff's office.
Police are looking to question Villarreal about the accident on southbound Church Road that killed 57-year-old Theresa M. Burns and injured a 25-year-old Plainfield man, both employees at Northern Illinois Academy, a residence and school for students with psychiatric challenges at 988 Corporate Blvd.
Burns and the Plainfield man were in the street about 5:33 p.m. Monday attempting to rescue an 18-year-old female student who had run from the school and sat in a southbound lane.
Authorities said the driver of the Metro hit Burns and the Plainfield man, but the student was not injured. Authorities said Burns died at the scene; the Plainfield man was treated and released from an Aurora hospital.
After the crash, police said the driver stopped the vehicle and fled on foot. Police have been searching for Villarreal since that time but have not found him, despite his family's cooperation in the investigation, authorities said Wednesday.
Villarreal is described as a Hispanic man with brown hair and eyes who stands about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 158 pounds.
Anyone with information about Villarreal's whereabouts is asked to call Aurora police traffic investigators at (630) 256-5330.
