A child died after he was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene while riding his bicycle on Terra Cotta Road outside of Crystal Lake Wednesday evening.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:34 p.m. Wednesday to Terra Cotta Road and Deering Oaks Lane in unincorporated Crystal Lake for a vehicle crash with injuries.
A 911 caller reported a juvenile had been struck by a vehicle while riding a bicycle.
The child was initially reported to be unresponsive and deputies reported he was deceased and they were performing lifesaving measures.
A LifeNet medical helicopter was placed on standby but canceled.
The victim was transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry where he was pronounced dead.
The mother of the victim told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that it was her oldest son who died.
She confirmed the driver who struck her child fled the scene.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Unit responded to conduct a crash reconstruction.
Investigators were seen taking photographs of the scene. The child’s bicycle, along with a second bicycle, were seen lying in the ditch along Terra Cotta Road.
Terra Cotta Road was shut down between East Hillside Road and Old Westbury Road for several hours and reopened around 2:20 a.m.
Sheriff’s deputies reported that the suspect vehicle was possibly a Jeep Wrangler based on evidence from the scene, but sheriff’s officials later said that they were not looking for that type of vehicle.
It is unclear whether the suspect or the vehicle has been located as of Thursday morning.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office has not yet released information on the incident.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office has not officially released the identity of the victim.