A 44-year-old Aurora man is dead after a multi-vehicle crash involving a rollover on Aurora’s far east side Wednesday evening.
According to the Aurora Police Department, at around 8:40pm Wednesday evening, police and fire personnel were were dispatched to the intersection of E. New York Street and North Eola Road, where they found a crash involving four vehicles, one of which was rolled over.
During the preliminary investigation, officers were able to determine a Dodge Challenger was westbound on East New York Street approaching North Eola Road when it made a lane change and attempted to make a turn onto North Eola Road. During the turn, the driver lost control and struck three vehicles in the southbound lanes of North Eola Road before rolling over.
Three people were transported from the scene to area hospitals, one with life-threatening injuries and two with minor injuries. The victim with life-threatening injuries, later identified as Gerardo Cuatzo, 44, of the 3000 block of Portland Lane, Aurora, was later pronounced deceased. Cuatzo was driving one of the three vehicle stuck by the Challenger.
The driver of the Challenger, Ailisa Gutierrez, 19, of the 1000 block of Daisy Street, Aurora, has been cited with Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident. An update will be provided if further charges are filed with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“The loss of life in our community is always tragic.” said Chief Keith Cross. “To the family and friends of Mr. Cuatzo, I would like to extend my deepest condolences. I would like to commend our officers and the Aurora Fire Department for their efforts to save the lives of those involved in this tragedy. I would strongly urge anybody who witnessed this accident to please contact our Traffic Division.”
The crash remains under investigation by APD’s Traffic Division. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Aurora Police Department’s Traffic Division at 630-256-5330 or email tips@aurora.il.us.
