Rockford man killed, two injured in crash; Vehicle reported stolen

LOVES PARK – Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 3, an Illinois State Police District 15 Trooper, attempted to stop a Blue 2005 Mazda 3 in Loves Park on Mulford Road.

The vehicle fled and the plate returned as a stolen auto out of Rockford. The Trooper last observed the vehicle on Mulford near Riverside but did not pursue the stolen vehicle.

Officers from the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department and Loves Park Police were assisting in the search of the stolen vehicle.

Shortly after 2:45 a.m., a Winnebago County deputy located the stolen vehicle crashed on Spring Creek Road just east of Highcrest Road.

The deputy identified the driver as 26-year-old Michael Traver of Rockford. The front passenger was pinned in the vehicle and Rockford Fire arrived on scene to conduct extrication.

The front passenger, later identified as Juan S. Lozano, a 22-year-old Rockford resident, was transported to a local hospital where he died from injuries he sustained in the crash.

Traver and the backseat passenger, a 17-year-old female Rockford resident, sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and are being treated at a local hospital.

Charges on the driver are pending, and the accident is still presently under investigation by the Rockford Police Department. There is evidence that this accident was alcohol-related.