UPDATE: Police Report Area’s 3rd Fatal Motorcycle Crash Since July 2
A 34-year-old Montgomery man has succumbed to injuries he received in a crash over the weekend that occurred on Aurora’s Northeast Side — tallying at least the third fatal motorcycle crash reported by local law enforcement agencies since July 2, 2016.
According to a report by Aurora police, Juan J. Ortega of the 1700 block of Ivy Lane, Montgomery died from massive head injuries he sustained in the crash at around 2:40 p.m. July 10 at Farnsworth Avenue and Corporate Boulevard.
Aurora police traffic investigators say that Ortega was riding a 2005 Suzuki GSX motorcycle northbound on Farnsworth when he apparently attempted to make a right-hand turn into the entrance of the Chicago Premium Outlets Mall. Instead, he turned in front of a northbound 2007 Nissan Maxima driven by Daniel Sanchez-Hernandez, 33, of the 900 block of Pearl Street, Aurora.
Ortega’s motorcycle hit the front end of the Maxima, which caused him to be ejected from the motorcycle, hit the windshield of the Nissan and come to rest on the pavement. Ortega, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered massive head injuries and was taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove by Aurora Fire Department paramedics.
Ortega was pronounced dead at 1:25 a.m., July 11. An autopsy was not performed by the DuPage County coroner, but toxicology tests were conducted and the results are pending.
Sanchez-Hernandez was charged with improper lane usage. There were no outward signs of drug or alcohol use at the scene.
Neither Sanchez-Hernandez nor his three passengers: a 9-year-old girl and two boys, ages 7 and 14, were injured.
This is at least the third motorcycle fatality reported by local police departments within an eight-day period.
Jordan Hale, 25, of St. Charles was killed July 8 when his motorcycle crashed into a flatbed truck on IL Route 25 in Elgin, and Susan Desensi, 54, of Bartlett was killed a little before 11:44 a.m. Saturday, July 2, in a crash on IL Route 20 near the intersection of Highland Woods Boulevard. Desensi had been a passenger on a 2006 Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by a 56-year-old man who swerved to avoid a 2006 Honda Accord.
SOURCE: Aurora Police Department news release
