A 20-year-old man is in critical condition after police say he was driving “well over” 100 mph when his car went airborne and hit a utility pole and trees in Harvard.
The Harvard Fire Protection District and Harvard Police Department responded around 12:52 a.m. Saturday to the intersection of Lawrence Road and Oak Grove Road for a report of a single-vehicle crash with injuries.
Officers discovered a 2009 Mercedes that had left the roadway and struck a utility pole and clump of trees, according to Harvard Police Chief Tyson Bauman.
The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was a 20-year-old Delavan, Wisconsin man.
A preliminary investigation shows the Mercedes had been traveling at a rate of speed “well over” 100 mph, Bauman said.
The vehicle left the roadway and went airborne. It then struck a utility pole and a clump of trees.
One of Mercyhealth’s emergency field vehicles — called MD-1 — was called to the scene to help treat the driver.
MD-1 vehicles are staffed by residency-trained emergency medicine physicians and they can help paramedics stabilize a patient before they are transported to the hospital from a scene.
The male driver was transported by ambulance to Javon Bea Hospital Riverside in Rockford where he remains in critical condition, Bauman said.
The Northeastern McHenry County Regional Major Crash Assistance Team was activated and responded to investigate the incident.
Bauman said it appears the combination of excessive speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the crash.
No charges have been filed yet and the crash remains under investigation.