Wayne crash leaves Elgin couple dead; Lake in the Hills driver involved

An Elgin couple was killed in a car crash Sunday evening in Wayne, according to a news release from Wayne police and the Kane County Coroner’s Office.

The Wayne Police Department responded to a multi-vehicle crash on Dunham Road, south of Stearns Road in Wayne, at 6:36 p.m. Dec. 8, according to the release.

When they arrived, officers found that a 2001 Toyota Corolla and a 2017 Toyota Highlander had collided.

An initial investigation showed that the Corolla, driven by Felix Mendoza Urbieta, 45, traveling with his wife Noemi Apolinar Huerta, 44, of Elgin, was traveling south on Dunham Road when it crossed over the centerline and collided with the Highlander traveling north, according to the release.

The Highlander was driven by a 45-year-old female from Lake in the Hills who was traveling with her 12-year-old daughter, according to the release.

Members of the Fox River Countryside Fire Rescue District responded to the scene to assist with medical attention.

Mendoza Urbieta suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Apolinar Huerta, who was in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.

The driver of the Highlander and her daughter, who was seated in the front passenger seat, suffered minor injuries that were not life-threatening and were taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, according to the release.

The Kane County Coroner’s Office was notified of the deaths. Mendoza Urbieta and Apolinar Huerta were taken to the Kane County Coroner’s Office morgue, and an autopsy was conducted Dec. 11, according to the release.

The preliminary cause of death was determined to be “multiple injuries due to a motor vehicle accident.” Toxicology samples were collected and sent to a forensic lab for analysis, according to the release.

The Kane County Coroner’s Office is cooperating with the Wayne Police Department and the Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigations Team in the ongoing investigation of this incident.