Waukegan man charged with DUI in fatal 2019 crash into township assessor's office

A 37-year-old Waukegan man faces multiple felony charges alleging he was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine when his car crashed into the Benton Township Assessor's Office in Beach Park last year, killing one of his passengers.

Juan C. Aguiar, of the 1100 block of Mary Jane Lane, is being held in the Lake County jail on $750,000 bail, after his arrest Tuesday night at his home, Lake County sheriff's police announced Wednesday.

His arrest followed what authorities described as a thorough investigation by Lake County Sheriff's Traffic Crash Investigators. Sheriff's police said the investigation determined Aguiar was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when his 2014 Nissan Altima struck an embankment near Kenosha and Green Bay roads, then plowed into the assessor's office.

A 23-year-old man riding in the car's back seat was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Aguiar and a second passenger, also a 23-year-old man, were hospitalized with injuries.

Aguiar is charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, and single counts of aggravated driving under the influence of drugs and aggravated driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs. After a brief appearance before a judge Wednesday, Aguiar is scheduled to return to a Lake County courtroom Thursday for a bond review hearing.