A 19-year-old man was flown to the hospital in critical condition after he caused a three-vehicle crash that left a natural gas main severed on Route 14 near Woodstock Monday afternoon.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, Marengo Fire/Rescue Districts and Harvard Fire Protection District responded around 2:15 p.m. Monday to the area of Route 14 and Dimmel Road in unincorporated Woodstock for a report of a three-vehicle crash with injuries.
A preliminary investigation showed a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze was traveling southbound on Route 14.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said the Chevrolet attempted to pass a semi-truck through the intersection at Dunham Road and continued into a no-passing zone.
The Chevrolet entered the southbound lane of traffic and rear-ended a 2011 Infiniti, causing it to exit the roadway to the west where it came to rest in an open field.
The Chevrolet continued southbound, crossed over the roadway and exited left into the parking lot of a business where it struck an unoccupied Hyundai Sonata head-on, the sheriff’s office said.
The crash resulted in a severed natural gas main.
A Mercyhealth REACT medical helicopter was called to the scene and landed nearby. Mercyhealth MD-1 also responded.
The driver of the Chevrolet, a 19-year-old Harvard man who was the sole occupant of the car, was flown to Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside in Rockford in critical condition.
The 19-year-old was not wearing a seat belt but the car’s airbags deployed, the sheriff’s office said, adding alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.
The driver of the Infiniti, a 63-year-old Lake Barrington man, and his passenger, a 63-year-old Chicago woman, were not injured. They were both wearing seat belts.
NICOR Gas responded to the scene for the natural gas leak and rendered the scene safe.
Route 14 was shut down for several hours between Dunham Road and Hartland Road.
The investigation is ongoing by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit.