Elgin mural to honor Rocky Lopez, local actor and tortilla-maker who died in crash

A mural in downtown Elgin will honor the life of Rocky Lopez, a Lake in the Hills man who was killed in a motorcycle crash.

The mural, which is in progress, is located on the side of Dream Hall 51, a culinary and business incubator.

"It's amazing," said Lopez' wife, Ravin, of the mural. "I know my husband would love it."

Her husband was killed in an Aug. 9 crash near Huntley and Binnie roads in West Dundee. The accident remains under investigation.

According to West Dundee police, Lopez, 53, was riding his motorcycle southeast on Huntley Road when he was struck by a car driven by a 61-year-old Dundee Township woman. The driver of the car was traveling northwest on Huntley Road and attempting to turn left on Binnie Road, police said.

Lopez's death has spurred an outpouring of support on social media. Many gathered Sunday at the accident site for a candlelight vigil.

Lopez, formerly of Elgin, was known locally as an actor and for his tortillas.

Though he closed the Tortilleria Chihuahua in Elgin before COVID, Lopez gained popularity for his handmade fresh tortillas and his quirky social media videos of himself at work and delivering the tortillas to local grocers.

At one point, he used the Dream Kitchen inside what is now known as Dream Hall for his business, Lopez's brother, Hector, said.

"It's amazing how many friends he had ... just amazing," Hector Lopez said

Though he worked as a truck driver, Rocky Lopez had a passion for acting and picked up roles in movies, including "Concrete Rose" and "Blood Bound,"

Lopez started acting while working with his brother at a construction site in Chicago. The two were supposed to wait by their trucks, but Lopez noticed a film crew for Chicago PD down the road.

"He walks over there, and, before you know it, they gave him a part (as an extra)," Hector Lopez recalled. "It became something that sparked in him."

Though Rocky Lopez's looks could be intimidating, he was approachable and caring, family members said.

"They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and my husband is literally the meaning of that," Ravin Lopez said. "He's just one of those people you'll never forget because of how kind he was ... he really was always happy."

On the day of the accident, she spent the day with her husband at work and then visited their son and daughter-in-law at their new home. When they returned to their home in Lake in the Hills, Lopez dropped off his wife and went to go visit a friend.

"I was sitting outside, and I remember seeing him drive by on his motorcycle, and that was the last time I saw him," she recalled, adding she opted to stay home that evening.

Ravin Lopez said she had tried calling him and grew concerned when he didn't answer and saw through her phone's location services that her husband had been on the side of the road for some time. She drove out to see if he was OK.

When she pulled up, she saw several police and emergency vehicles. A few moments later, a police officer informed her husband had died in a crash, she said.

"My husband never failed to tell me every day how much I meant to him and show me how much he appreciated me," she said.

She said he loved his eight children and grandchildren and inspired their two sons to enlist in the Army.

Lopez is survived by his wife, Ravin, eight children, 11 grandchildren, two brothers and a sister.

Visitation services will be held Thursday from 3 to 9 p.m. at Alvarez Funeral Directors Funeral Home, 2500 N. Cicero Ave. in Chicago.