Wisconsin man charged in fiery Hainesville crash

A Wisconsin man has been charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with a fiery crash early Friday that destroyed two townhouses and significantly damaged another in Hainesville.

Adam R. Bileck, 32, of Kenosha, Wis., was charged after being released Saturday from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he had been treated for hypothermia.

No injuries were reported as a result of the crash about 4 a.m. that damaged a gas meter outside one of the townhouses at 450 Patriot Drive and caused it to ignite.

Grayslake police said the two DUI charges are felonies and the leaving the scene charge is a misdemeanor. Bileck was being held pending a bond hearing Sunday in Lake County circuit court. No further details were provided by police.

Police on Friday said an SUV was traveling south on Hainesville Road, crossed into the northbound lanes and traveled about 500 feet, knocking down a township sign and skirting the Avon Township baseball complex before crashing into the townhouse. A gas meter was damaged and ignited, seriously damaging the six-unit building and displacing at least three families.

Police were on the scene in less than a minute but found no one in the vehicle.

About two hours later, police were alerted to a man found hiding beneath a pickup truck nearby.

Lieka Racho and her three young children were in the townhouse that was struck. According to information on a fundraising site, Racho awoke to screeching brakes and felt the impact of the car hitting the garage.

She went downstairs and saw the garage filled with smoke. She and the children wearing their pajamas left the home and were taken in by a neighbor, according to the site.

While all physically OK, the family lost photos and other memorabilia and is said not to have insurance to cover personal belongings. A fundraising effort is under way.

Racho's husband, Eric, was at work and not home at the time of the crash.

“From our family and friends near and far to total strangers just wanting to help, it is overwhelming and touching to see and feel the goodness of people in this world,” Eric said in a post provided to the Daily Herald.

Drop off locations are during regular hours at Frederick School, 595 Frederick Road, and Prairieview School, 103 E. Belvidere Road (Route 120) in Grayslake and at the Hainesville village hall, 100 N. Hainesville Road.