A school employee has been identified as one of three killed in a fiery crash caused by a high-speed and reckless driver near Woodstock that left her young daughter seriously injured.
The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, Woodstock Police Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 12:02 p.m. Sunday to the 13400 block of Davis Road in unincorporated Woodstock for a report of a multi-vehicle crash with entrapment.
The sheriff’s office said a 2021 Dodge Challenger Hellcat was traveling westbound on Davis Road.
The Dodge attempted to pass a 2021 Jeep Wrangler in a posted no-passing zone, sheriff’s officials said Monday morning.
The Dodge struck an eastbound 2022 Volvo XC 90 at the top of a hillcrest, causing the Volvo to exit the roadway to the south.
After the impact, the Dodge rotated while continuing westbound and exiting the roadway to the north where it caught fire.
The Jeep was struck by debris from the crash but managed to avoid a direct impact with the other vehicles, sheriff’s officials said.
Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Communication Specialist Alex Vucha said firefighters arrived within four minutes and located a severe crash with the Dodge fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters deployed a hose line to contain the vehicle fire, which had started to spread toward a nearby wooded area, Vucha said.
Additional fire crews worked to extricate a child passenger from the Volvo after they were entrapped during the crash.
Vucha said the seriously injured child was transported by ambulance to the helipad at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Woodstock.
A LifeNet medical helicopter landed and flew the child to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
Two occupants were located inside the Dodge after the fire was extinguished, Vucha said.
Both of them were pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff said they have not been positively identified yet.
The driver of the Volvo, identified Monday as Amy Roeder, 47, of Woodstock, was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Roeder was a District 200 classroom aide at Westwood Elementary School in Woodstock.
“She was a huge asset to the Westwood School community. Besides being an employee, she was a very involved parent,” Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 Director of Communications Kevin Lyons said.
Roeder’s daughter was the child who was inside the vehicle when the crash occurred.
Lyons said the school is making sure that students who Roeder worked with are being supported following her death.
Vucha said the driver and young passenger in the Jeep were unharmed and did not require medical treatment.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office shut down Davis Road between Stieg Road and Dean Street for a crash investigation.
The sheriff’s office said the Dodge was speeding and driving recklessly at the time of the crash.
Alcoholic beverage containers were found at the scene and it is unknown yet if alcohol was also a contributing factor.
The occupants in the Volvo were both wearing seat belts and the airbags deployed, sheriff’s officials said.
The roadway remained closed throughout the afternoon into the evening. Deputies reopened the roadway around 8 p.m.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office is in the process of conducting autopsies on the three victims.
The investigation remains ongoing by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.