Authorities say a man was left seriously injured and trapped in a car and a woman was also injured following a head-on crash near Harvard Friday evening.
The Harvard Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:13 p.m. Friday to the area of Route 23 and North Olbrich Road in unincorporated Harvard for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Harvard Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said additional 911 callers reported that one of the drivers was trapped inside his vehicle.
Firefighters arrived to find the two-vehicle crash just south of the intersection along Route 23.
Additional resources were requested from Marengo and Woodstock fire districts to assist at the scene due to the severity of the incident, Vucha said.
The Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District was called to provide station coverage for Harvard.
Firefighters worked for approximately 20 minutes to extricate the adult male driver of a white sedan.
He was transported by ambulance to Javon Bea Hospital – Riverside in Rockford with serious injuries, Vucha said.
An adult female passenger in the white sedan was also transported to Javon Bea Hospital – Riverside with moderate injuries.
The male driver of the pickup truck, who was the sole occupant of his vehicle, was uninjured and declined medical attention.
Vucha said roads were snow-covered, creating hazardous driving conditions, at the time of the crash.
Both directions of Route 23 were temporarily shut down while emergency crews operated on the scene. They remained shut down to allow tow trucks to remove the vehicles.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the crash.