Man who died in Harvard rollover was involved in police chase crash that killed Lake County woman 20 years ago

The McHenry County Coroner’s Office identified the man killed in a crash west of Harvard on Tuesday morning as Rigoberto Herrera-Reynozo, 41, of Harvard.

In a 2004 police chase in downstate Macomb, a woman from Libertyville was killed when a sheriff’s deputy who was pursuing Herrera-Reynozo crashed into the woman’s car.

Herrera-Reynozo died Tuesday morning when his 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee left the road about 9:40 a.m. in the 9900 block of Lawrence Road. The vehicle rolled multiple times and landed in a field, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

Herrera-Reynozo, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene. He died of blunt force trauma, McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said. Toxicology tests are pending. The coroner’s office and the sheriff’s Major Crash Investigation Unit continue to investigate the crash.

According to a 2019 Tristate Public Radio news report, in September 2004, a McDonough County deputy tried to make a traffic stop involving Herrera-Reynozo north of Macomb. As the deputy walked to the car, Herrera-Reynozo sped away, and a chase ensued with speeds reaching up to 100 mph; it ended when a minivan turned left in front of the deputy’s car. The crash killed a passenger in the minivan, 44-year-old Jill Dayton of Libertyville.

In 2019, the McDonough County Board agreed to a $1.835 million settlement to Dayton’s estate, with another $2 million from the county’s insurance company.

Herrera-Reynozo was sentenced to 2½ years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in that case.