A grandfather has been sentenced to probation for driving through a railroad gate and causing his vehicle to be struck by a train in Ingleside, leaving his 13-year-old grandson and wife both dead.
Anthony J. Shemberger, 73, of Antioch, was charged in October 2023 with two counts of reckless homicide by motor vehicle, a Class 3 felony.
The charges stem from an incident that the Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to around 12:15 p.m. on December 18, 2022, to Wilson Road and West Larkin Lane in Ingleside.
Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis told Lake and McHenry County Scanner at the time that outbound Metra train 2603 was traveling on the Milwaukee District North Line when it struck a car.
The crash was at the Wilson Road crossing just south of the Ingleside Metra station.
Anthony Shemberger, along with Noah Kucinski, 13, of Lockport, and Patricia Shemberger, 75, of Antioch, were inside the car.
Patricia Shemberger and Kucinski were pronounced dead at the scene, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said a sheriff’s deputy, who was stopped facing northbound at the tracks, witnessed the crash.
An investigation showed the driver of a Hyundai Elantra, Anthony Shemberger, was traveling southbound on Wilson Road.
The crossing’s warning lights and gates lowered prior to a westbound train crossing the roadway, Covelli said.
Covelli said Anthony Shemberger did not slow down and drove through the gate, directly in the path of the train.
The train struck the driver’s side of the Hyundai.
Patricia Shemberger, who was in the back seat of the Hyundai, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced deceased at the scene.
Kucinski, who was also in the back seat, was critically injured and pronounced deceased at the scene, Covelli said.
Firefighters had to extricate Anthony Shemberger from the car because he was trapped in the wreckage.
He was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries.
No one on the train was injured, Gillis said.
Train traffic was halted for two to three hours while the Metra Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team investigated.
Court records show Shemberger entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
He pleaded guilty on July 24 to both counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony.
In exchange for his plea, Shemberger was sentenced to 30 months of probation and ordered not to consume illegal drugs or alcohol and not to drive.
A six-month jail sentence will not be imposed as long as Shemberger complies with the terms of his probation.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said after the plea that the incident was a “criminally reckless act” that took the life of Shemberger’s wife and grandson.
“We consulted closely with the defendant’s remaining family and held a plea conference with the court before accepting the defendant’s guilty plea to the case as charged. We believe this sentence protects the public to ensure the defendant doesn’t drive again,” Rinehart said.