Police say what initially appeared to be a minor traffic crash near Gurnee quickly turned serious after a woman suffered from paralysis and later died Saturday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Gurnee Fire Department responded around 12 p.m. Saturday to the intersection of Route 41 and Stearns School Road in unincorporated Gurnee for a vehicle crash with injuries.
A preliminary investigation shows a 2022 Hyundai, being driven by a 58-year-old Mount Prospect man, was traveling northbound on Route 41, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The driver of the Hyundai began making a left turn onto westbound Stearns School Road.
At the same time, a 2020 Subaru, driven by a 64-year-old Gurnee woman, was traveling southbound on Route 41.
The Subaru collided with the Hyundai in the intersection, Covelli said.
The driver of the Hyundai was uninjured. The driver of the Subaru initially appeared to have minor injuries, Covelli said.
Paramedics transported the woman to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where her condition deteriorated.
The 64-year-old woman appeared to be paralyzed from the neck down.
Due to the severity of her injuries, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit was activated.
Crash investigators learned the woman was pronounced dead at the hospital around 7 p.m. Saturday, Covelli said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy on the woman for Monday.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.