The coroner has identified a 49-year-old man who died after police say he drove his motorcycle recklessly just before he crashed into a car near Libertyville Tuesday evening.
An autopsy performed Wednesday showed that William Matthies, 49, of Lake Villa, died as a result of blunt force injuries from a crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Libertyville Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5 p.m. Tuesday to Route 21 south of Casey Road in unincorporated Libertyville for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and found the operator of a motorcycle critically injured, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
A preliminary investigation shows a BMW motorcycle, driven by Matthies, was traveling southbound on Route 21.
Witnesses told investigators the driver of the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic as it traveled southbound, Covelli said.
A Hyundai SUV, driven by a 68-year-old woman, was turning left from the Independence Grove Dog Park onto southbound Route 21.
Covelli said the motorcycle collided with the Hyundai, which caused the motorcycle to strike a curb.
Matthies was thrown into a guardrail and suffered life-threatening injuries.
He was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he was later pronounced dead.
The driver of the Hyundai was uninjured, Covelli said.
Route 21 between Casey Road and Route 137 was shut down for several hours while a crash investigation was conducted.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.