Suburban man gets 17 years in head-on DUI crash that killed 2 women

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — A suburban man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison following a head-on DUI crash that killed two women in 2019.

Victor Ortiz, 54, was convicted on four counts of aggravated DUI on Aug. 10 following a jury trial.

On June 8, 2019, police responded to a crash in Fremont Township, north of Route 60. Police believed Ortiz’s van was going southbound on Fairfield Road when he crossed the center line and struck a Kia head-on.

The crash resulted in the deaths of Barbara Gaulke, of Ingleside, 56, and Sandra Forscht, of Round Lake Beach, 64.

Ortiz was taken into custody in Chicago on June 29 after a tip was received that he was trying to flee the country. His blood alcohol content at the time was almost three times the legal limit. Because he was hospitalized, investigators said they needed to wait on forensic testing results to present the case to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office.

Twenty days after the crash, prosecutors said that Ortiz committed a separate, unrelated DUI in Kildeer.

Prosecutors asked that Ortiz be sentenced to 22 years in prison.