Beach Park crash victims identified
Lake County authorities have identified the three people killed in a head-on crash early Saturday near Green Bay and Blanchard roads in Beach Park.
The victims include 24-year-old Jose Barrera and 23-year-old Marilis Barrera, both of Waukegan, and 71-year-old David Martinez of Beach Park, according to Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper.
Autopsies performed Monday determined all three died from blunt force trauma suffered in the crash. Cooper said his office performed toxicology tests but the results are pending.
Police called to the crash scene at 4:45 a.m. Saturday found a 2013 Honda Civic and a 2008 Nissan Altima with heavy damage. Police say Jose Barrera was driving the Nissan, with Marilis Barrera as his passenger, was traveling north on Green Bay Road just south of Blanchard when, for an unknown reason, the Nissan crossed into the southbound lanes and collided head-on with the Honda driven by Martinez, authorities said.
Sgt. Chris Covelli of the Lake County sheriff's office said Tuesday that investigators from the Technical Crash Investigations Unit are working to determine if drugs, alcohol or other factors contributed to the crash.
Because of the extensive damage done to the vehicles, it has been difficult for investigators to retrieve data that might have been captured by the onboard vehicle data recorders, Covelli said.