A 62-year-old man riding on a lawnmower on Route 59 near Lake Villa was struck by a car and suffered life-threatening injuries Saturday evening, police said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake Villa Fire Protection District responded around 6:30 p.m. Saturday to Route 59 and Amber Way in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and found one person critically injured, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
A preliminary investigation shows a 62-year-old Lake Villa man was operating a Craftsman riding mower on Route 59.
“This area of Route 59 is unlit, there were no lights activated on the riding mower, and the man was wearing dark-colored clothing,” Covelli said.
The riding mower was struck by a southbound 2010 Ford Escape, driven by a 40-year-old Spring Grove woman.
The driver of the Ford and three children inside the Ford were uninjured.
The operator of the riding mower sustained critical, life-threatening injuries, Covelli said.
He was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Route 59 was closed in both directions from Monaville Road to Route 132 for approximately three hours while police conducted an investigation.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.