Man dies after crashing through Arlington Heights backyard in minivan

Authorities identified a 24-year-old Des Plaines man Sunday as the driver who died after crashing through a fence and careened into a backyard Saturday in Arlington Heights.

Gerardo Alvarez-Villalva of the 400 block of West Touhy was pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m. Saturday, about 30 minutes after he was found unresponsive behind the wheel of a minivan that barreled into a yard near West Algonquin Road and Kennicott Avenue, authorities said.

Witnesses described seeing a silver minivan speeding east on West Algonquin Road at about 6:30 p.m. when it suddenly struck and crossed a median, crossed the westbound lanes of Algonquin, "traversed a parkway" and crashed through the fence of a backyard, Arlington Heights police said.

The minivan came to a stop when it struck a tree, according to police. There weren't any passengers in the vehicle.

First responders extricated Alvarez-Villalva from the vehicle, but he had "succumbed to multiple traumatic injuries received upon impact," police said.

An autopsy is scheduled later Sunday.

Westbound Algonquin Road between Kennicott Avenue and North Wilkie Road was closed for the investigation, police said.