A fundraiser has collected almost $25,000 for the family of a 19-year-old Round Lake Beach man who was killed over the weekend in a motorcycle crash near Lake Villa.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:30 p.m. Sunday to Rollins Road west of Route 45 in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a motorcycle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Christopher Covelli said sheriff’s deputies arrived and located a 2006 Yamaha motorcycle in the ditch south of the roadway.
Deputies located the driver of the motorcycle, a 19-year-old man, unconscious and not breathing.
Family members identified the man as Daniel McPherson of Round Lake Beach.
Sheriff’s deputies attempted life-saving measures on McPherson until paramedics arrived.
McPherson succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Covelli said.
A preliminary investigation shows that McPherson was traveling eastbound on Rollins Road west of Route 45.
He was in the inside lane and made a lane change to the outside lane, but drove slightly off the roadway onto the gravel shoulder, Covelli said.
This caused McPherson to lose control and crash into the ditch. He was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained major injuries.
Karina McPherson, Daniel’s sister, said “all our hearts will forever be torn from this tragic loss.”
“Danny wasn’t like the rest of us (his siblings). He was always the positive force in our family. The one who always lived and spoke his truth. The one that was never afraid to take risks, take on new challenges, and simply own it. The only one of us that knew how to live every single day as if it was his last,” Karina McPherson said.
The family created a GoFundMe account to help them pay for McPherson’s funeral.
“Most of all, to the women who called us and witnessed my brothers accident, we thank you for getting out of your vehicle to come to our brother’s aid and try to save his life. Thank you for holding him until he took his last breath when we weren’t able to,” Karina McPherson said.
The GoFundMe account has raised almost $25,000, surpassing its $15,000 goal after more than 500 donors contributed to it.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit and Lake County Coroner’s Office.