Ingleside And Round Lake Women IDd In Fatal Fremont Crash

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Two women killed in a three-vehicle crash Saturday night near Grayslake have been identified by the Lake County Coroner's Office. The victims are 56-year-old Barbara Gaulke, of Ingleside, and Sandra Forscht, of Round Lake, Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said. According to a release from the coroner's office, preliminary results from an autopsy performed on each of the women Monday morning indicate Gaulke and Forscht died of injuries from blunt force trauma due to the crash.

According to the release, the coroner's office was notified and responded for a death investigation at 10:21 p.m. Saturday to Fairfield Road north of Route 60 in Fremont Township.

“We have been in close contact with both families and our deepest condolences go out to them during this difficult time," Cooper said in the release. "This is truly an awful tragedy."

Toxicology is pending for both victims.

The three-vehicle collision occurred at about 9:05 p.m. when a Ford E350 driven by a 51-year-old Round Lake Beach man and headed south on Fairfield Road north of Route 60 crossed a median and struck the driver's side of a northbound Honda Odyssey. The Honda then hit a northbound Kia Forte head-on, according to a press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The driver of the Kia — now identified as Gaulke — and a front-seat passenger in the Kia —now identified as Forscht — both sustained significant injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The 51-year-old driver of the Ford and the driver of the Honda, a 42-year-old Hainesville man, were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit. Crash investigators will work to determine why the driver of the Ford crossed the median into the wrong lane of traffic, according to the sheriff's office news release.