Tragedy struck early Sunday in Waukegan as a vehicle collided with and killed a pedestrian, marking the second fatal accident within Lake County in the same weekend involving a pedestrian. The Chicago Tribune reported that the Lake County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 43-year-old Juan Mentada from Waukegan, who was pronounced dead following the incident which occurred around 12:30 a.m. at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Berwick Boulevard.
According to Lake & McHenry County Scanner, an autopsy performed Tuesday confirmed that Mentada died due to blunt force injuries from the collision. At the scene, Mentada was reported to have been nearly hit by multiple vehicles before a 2018 Nissan Rogue struck him. Attempting to cross through traffic, authorities stated that the SUV, which had been traveling eastbound on Grand Avenue, stopped at the scene.
The Waukegan Deputy Police Chief, Scott Chastain, said that the driver, a 20-year-old Park City man, had remained on site and fully cooperated with the investigators, as per Lake & McHenry County Scanner. Initial assessments indicated that the driver was not impaired, but he nonetheless provided toxicology samples to the police. "The crash remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department Major Crash Unit."
