A 69-year-old man, who was a U.S. Army veteran, has died in the hospital after he was flown to a trauma center following a two-vehicle crash on Route 31 in Crystal Lake last month.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and Crystal Lake Police Department responded around 1:49 p.m. on February 16 to Route 31 and Brighton Lane for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Richard Neumann said officers arrived to find a two-vehicle crash involving a Honda sedan and a Toyota SUV.
A preliminary investigation showed the Honda sedan was attempting to turn south onto Route 31 from Brighton Lane.
The Toyota SUV was traveling northbound on Route 31 and collided with the Honda, Neumann said.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Darrell Cook said the cars were heavily damaged.
Paramedics transported the adult male driver of the Honda to the helipad at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry.
A LifeNet medical helicopter flew the victim to a trauma center for treatment of critical injuries, Cook said.
Neumann said two occupants of the Toyota were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Route 31 was shut down for several hours while a crash investigations team responded.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said the driver of the Honda, identified as Gary Randall, 69, of Crystal Lake, died at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville on Sunday — two weeks after the crash.
Randall died as a result of blunt force injuries suffered in the crash, Newton said.
An obituary for Randall said he was a “proud father and grandfather” as well as an uncle to many nieces and nephews.
Randall was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served in the Caisson Detachment of the U.S. Army’s 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard).
“A man of many talents and trades, he wore many hats throughout his life – from DJing weddings in church basements to laying the very floors we walk on, and a whole lot in between. He was a true jack-of-all-trades, always ready with a helping hand and a quick wit,” his obituary said.
A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church in Marengo.