DUI suspect drove 50 mph over limit, crashed into tree in Green Oaks: police

A man is accused of driving more than double the speed limit while on drugs before crashing a vehicle into a tree when police tried to pull him over Monday night in north suburban Green Oaks.

A Lake County sheriff’s deputy was conducting radar speed checks at 9:05 p.m. near Guerin and O’Plaine roads when he saw a vehicle going 80 mph in the 30 mph zone, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

While trying to conduct a traffic stop, the deputy saw the vehicle had crashed into a tree in the 31000 block of O’Plaine, authorities said. All three men fled the scene on foot.

Deputies and a canine team from the Waukegan Police Department were able to track down the driver, 26-year-old Gilberto Cuen-Alvarado, and a passenger, a 24-year-old Park City man, in a subdivision east of the scene of the crash, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said both were “wet and cold from running into a swamp in an attempt to flee.”

Cuen-Alvarado, also of Park City, was taken to Highland Park Hospital. His injuries weren’t life threatening, the sheriff’s office said.

He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of an accident, speeding, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 27.

The second passenger, a 24-year-old Waukegan man, was found by Illinois State Police neat Route 137 and North Reigate Lane in Green Oaks, authorities said. He was taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville to be treated for injuries he suffered in the crash, which were not thought to be life threatening.

Additional charges may be filed against the two passengers, authorities said.