An elderly woman was critically injured after the sheriff says she walked away from her home without her caretaker’s knowledge and was hit by a car in Ingleside Wednesday afternoon.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Big Hollow Road and Leonard Avenue in Ingleside for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said deputies arrived and found a crash involving a car and a pedestrian.
The 79-year-old female pedestrian, an Ingleside resident, was seriously injured.
A preliminary investigation shows a Nissan Altima, driven by a 41-year-old Wood Dale woman, was traveling eastbound on Big Hollow Road.
Covelli said the eastbound Nissan struck the 79-year-old woman, who appeared to have been walking in the roadway.
It appears the driver of the Nissan attempted to swerve to avoid hitting the woman but was unable to, Covelli said.
The driver of the Nissan and a small child in the back seat were uninjured.
The female pedestrian was transported to an area hospital with critical injuries.
Covelli said it is believed the pedestrian may have memory issues and left her home without her caretaker’s knowledge.
The driver of the Nissan is cooperating with the investigation.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.