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Round Lake Beach man charged with drunken driving after high-speed crash

A Round Lake Beach man is facing drunken driving charges after authorities said he crashed his car into a tree early Thursday and had to be extricated from the vehicle.

Officials from the Lake County sheriff's office said 25-year-old Jesus M. Lopez Ortiz was speeding in a 2015 Infiniti Q50 west on Route 134, east of Harrison Avenue near Round Lake, at about 1:20 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle and it crashed into a tree.

Fire officials from the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District said the four-door sedan was "wrapped around the tree," with most of the damage to the passenger side of the vehicle. It took emergency workers several minutes to extricate Lopez Ortiz from the car.

Lopez Ortiz was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with "serious injuries," sheriff's police said.

Investigators believe Lopez Ortiz was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash and he was charged while at the hospital, authorities said.

He is due in court Jan. 25.

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