Michigan man pleads guilty to Aggravated DUI in fatal collision at Balmoral Racetrack

January 9

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced today that a Michigan man has pleaded guilty to aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol in connection with a 2011 collision that caused the death of a woman at Balmoral Park Racetrack.

Angus D. Lake, 42, faces between three and 14 years in prison when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Richard Schoenstedt on March 15.

Lake was driving his Dodge Ram Truck while intoxicated in the early-morning hours of April 11 on Backstretch Road at the track when he struck a horse that was carrying two riders.

One of the riders, Michelle Eustis, 25, died from head injuries she suffered when she was thrown from the horse. A second rider, Heather France, who was 21 at the time, suffered injuries that included a broken leg. The horse suffered a gash along its hindquarter but survived.

Lake had been drinking with the two women earlier in the evening and morning at a barn on the track grounds. Eustis and France decided to take the horse for a ride. Lake took his truck to look for them after they were gone for about 30 minutes.

The defendant’s blood-alcohol level was tested at .147 shortly after the collision with the horse. He has a prior conviction from Michigan for operating a vehicle while impaired in 2005 and from Ohio for assault in 2004.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Steve Platek and Jessica Colon-Sayre prosecuted the case.