The coroner has identified a 64-year-old grandmother from Spring Grove that died in the Lake Villa crash, which also left her 1-year-old grandson dead and her 3-year-old granddaughter in critical condition.
Nancy Siedlecki, 64, of Spring Grove, and her 17-month-old grandson, who lived in Lake Zurich, were both pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and an autopsy confirmed they died of multiple blunt force trauma injuries, Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said.
The Lake Villa Fire Protection District and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:20 p.m. Thursday to the 39300 block of North Route 59 in unincorporated Lake Villa for a three-vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that a 2017 Nissan SUV, driven by Siedlecki, was traveling northbound when it struck a 2014 Ford pickup truck that tried to merge back out onto the roadway from the shoulder.
The Nissan rolled over onto its side and was then struck by a southbound 2007 Hyundai minivan. Siedlecki and her 17-month-old grandson, who was in the backseat of the car, were both pronounced dead at the scene, Cooper said.
A Flight For Life medical helicopter transported Siedlecki’s 3-year-old granddaughter, who was also in the backseat of the Nissan, to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where she remains in critical condition Saturday.
A 57-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy, both from Lake Villa, who were in the Hyundai minivan, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Both of them have since been released from the hospital.
The 41-year-old Grayslake man driving the Ford pickup truck, which was pulling a trailer, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was also transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center. He has also been released from the hospital.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Technical Crash Investigations Unit.