The sheriff says a 27-year-old motorcyclist has died after he was traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control before crashing into an SUV on Route 45 near Lake Villa Saturday morning.
The Gurnee Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6:20 a.m. Saturday to the area of Route 45 and Rollins Road in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a motorcycle crash.
Gurnee Fire Department Lt. Jeremy Hagstrom said fire crews arrived to find a motorcycle and a small SUV involved in a crash.
The crash occurred along the curve on Route 45 south of Rollins Road and north of Dada Drive.
The motorcycle sustained significant damage and the motorcycle rider was down on the ground after being ejected from the motorcycle, Hagstrom said.
The adult male rider, who was initially reported to be unconscious, suffered life-threatening injuries.
Hagstrom said the man was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said that the victim, a 27-year-old Grayslake man, died after arriving at the hospital.
A preliminary investigation shows the 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, driven by the 27-year-old, was traveling northbound on Route 45.
A witness reported that the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash, Covelli said.
At one point, the motorcycle temporarily lost control on the wet pavement before regaining control.
The driver of the motorcycle continued north past Dada Drive after regaining control but failed to properly negotiate the curve on Route 45, Covelli said.
The motorcycle crossed into the southbound lane of traffic and struck the 2005 Nissan Rogue, which was being driven southbound by a 69-year-old Lake Villa man.
Sheriff’s deputies attempted lifesaving measures and applied a tourniquet to the motorcyclist before he was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.
The driver of the Nissan was uninjured and is cooperating with the investigation, Covelli said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office is scheduling an autopsy on the victim, whose identity has not been released.
Both drivers were the sole occupants of their vehicles, Hagstrom said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office shut down Route 45 in both directions from Rollins Road to Dada Drive for several hours while conducting a crash investigation.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.