A serious Saturday evening crash has led to drunken driving charges against an Aurora man who allegedly drove into oncoming traffic and struck a vehicle head-on, Aurora police said.
Police said the crash occurred around 7:45 p.m. on North Lake Street, just past West Indian Trail, where Jesus Quintanilla, 32, was driving a 2006 Mercedes R350 northbound and allegedly swerved into the southbound lanes.
According to Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli, the vehicle driven by Quintanilla, 900 block of Autumn Lane, struck a 2008 Chrysler Sebring, driven by a 42-year-old Aurora woman, head-on.
The impact of the crash forced the woman’s car backward, and into a southbound car occupied by an Oswego man and his wife. Ferrelli said the Oswego couple was not injured.
The crash did injure both Quintanilla and the Sebring’s driver, who had to be extricated from her vehicle.
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Ferrelli said that when officers arrived on scene, they found Quintanilla’s Mercedes on fire. Police reports note that he was found unconscious in the front seat, without a seat belt on. It appeared he was not breathing, police wrote.
Several beer cans and small, shot-sized liquor bottles were found in Quintanilla’s car as he was being rescued, according to police reports.
Quintanilla was pulled from the vehicle by officers and paramedics and taken to an Aurora hospital in critical condition. Ferrelli said his injuries appear non-life threatening.
The Sebring’s driver had to be extricated from her vehicle. Ferrelli said she was initially treated at an Aurora hospital and then transported to a suburban Chicago hospital for treatment of serious, but apparently non-life threatening injuries.
Both Quintanilla and the Sebring’s driver were alone in their vehicles at the time of the crash, Ferrelli said.
Lake Street, between Indian Trail and Sullivan Road, was closed until about 12:20 a.m. Sunday while police investigated the crash.
In addition to drunken driving, Quintanilla, was also charged with driving on a revoked license, improper lane usage, not wearing a seat belt and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash. Aurora Police Traffic Investigators say enhanced charges are possible in the case.