The coroner has identified an 88-year-old man who died after his car traveled into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle, leaving a second person injured, near Woodstock.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded around 7:40 a.m. Thursday to the area of Charles Road east of Raffel Road in unincorporated Woodstock for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find a two-vehicle crash with two people injured.
A preliminary investigation showed a 2000 Lincoln Town Car was traveling westbound on Charles Road, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Lincoln lost control and entered the eastbound lane of travel, crashing into the front of the 2014 Hyundai.
The impact caused both the Lincoln and the Hyundai to exit the roadway to the south, the sheriff’s office said.
The driver of the Lincoln was wearing his seatbelt and the car’s airbags deployed.
McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein on Monday identified the driver of the Lincoln as James Settle, 88, of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Sheriff’s officials said Settle was transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry where he was later pronounced dead.
Rein said Settle was initially conscious after being removed from his vehicle following the crash but went into cardiac arrest after arriving at the hospital.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 46-year-old Machesney Park man, was also wearing his seatbelt and his car’s airbags deployed.
He was treated at the scene for minor injuries and released. There were no passengers in either vehicle.
Rein said an autopsy performed Friday showed Settle died preliminarily as a result of traumatic cardiac arrhythmia as well as blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen. Toxicology results are pending.
The National Weather Service and local police departments warned around the time of the crash about icy conditions reported on roadways in McHenry County and the surrounding area. It is unclear if the road conditions played a role in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and McHenry County Coroner’s Office