Two Harvard teens killed in a fiery, triple-fatal car crash near Woodstock were identified Thursday by McHenry County Coroner officials Thursday.
McHenry County Coroner, Dr. Michael Rein, announced his office positively identified Alex Gonzalez, 18, and Miguel A. Martinez Santiago, 17, both from Harvard, as the individuals involved in the two-car fatal crash that took place just after noon Sunday on Davis Road in Woodstock.
The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, Woodstock Police Department, and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded 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 and attempted to pass a 2021 Jeep Wrangler in a posted no-passing zone.
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 trapped in the Volvo.
Vucha said the seriously injured child was transported by ambulance to the helipad at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Woodstock, then transported via LifeNet medical helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
Gonzalez and Martinez were located inside the Dodge after the fire was extinguished, Vucha said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Volvo, previously identified as Amy Roeder, 47, of Woodstock, was also pronounced dead at the scene, coroner officials said.
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.
Rein said autopsies were completed on Monday and Roeder died as a result of blunt force injuries in the crash.
Gonzalez and Martinez suffered from severe burn injuries from the fire, coroner office officials said previously. Toxicology results are pending for all three victims.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office shut down Davis Road between Stieg Road and Dean Street for a crash investigation.
Alcoholic beverage containers were found at the scene, but it remains unknown at this time if alcohol was 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 investigation continues by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.