Passenger killed in Christmas Eve crash into home identified as Round Lake Beach man

A 22-year-old man killed in a crash Christmas Eve near Lake Villa has been identified as Axel Maldonado Guerrero of Round Lake Beach.

Guerrero was a front-seat passenger in a Jeep that crashed into a house causing major damage about 7:25 p.m. on the 21300 block of West Engle Drive. A backseat passenger, another 22-year-old man also from Round Lake Beach, was seriously injured.

Authorities said the Jeep was traveling east on West Engle Drive, crossed into the westbound lane and back into the eastbound lane before going off the road on the south side, into a yard and crashing into the home.

No one was at home at the time. Maldonado Guerrero was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy showed he died from blunt-force injuries of the head as a result of the crash, according to the Lake County Coroner’s office.

The Jeep driver, Marcos Corona-Vargas, 31, of Round Lake Beach, was charged with reckless homicide and DUI, authorities said Wednesday.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.