Sheriff: Lake County man intentionally caused crash that injured infant

A Lake County man faces multiple charges alleging he intentionally caused a crash Saturday night near Lake Bluff that left an infant boy critically injured.

Derwin E. Guadarrama-Jimenez, 22, of the 100 block of South Elmwood Avenue, Waukegan is being held in the Lake County jail on $75,000 bail on two counts of reckless conduct, the most serious of which could put him in prison for up to three years if he's convicted.

According to Lake County Sheriff's police, Guadarrama-Jimenez was a passenger in a 2008 Honda traveling south on Route 41 near Route 176 in Shields Township when he and the driver, a 22-year-old Waukegan woman, began arguing at about 8 p.m. Saturday.

During the argument, Guadarrama-Jimenez intentionally grabbed the steering wheel and turned it, causing the vehicle to leave the road and strike a tree, authorities said.

The driver and a 1-year-old boy sitting in the back seat were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment. The boy later was transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with critical injuries, sheriff's police said. His condition has improved, but he remained hospitalized Monday, according to the sheriff's office.

Guadarrama-Jimenez and a 15-year-old boy who was in the back seat were taken to Lake Forest Hospital for treatment. He, the teenage passenger and the car's driver were treated and released.

Guadarrama-Jimenez is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.