Two people were killed and a third person was flown to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash sent one car colliding into a house and catching fire on the border of Harvard and Walworth.
The Harvard Fire Protection and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 11:48 p.m. Friday to the area of Route 14 and State Line Road in unincorporated Harvard for a report of a vehicle crash with entrapment.
911 callers reported a vehicle had crashed into a building and caught on fire, with people trapped inside the car.
Fire crews arrived and confirmed a car on fire up against a house on the northwest corner of the intersection.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level and then the second alarm for additional fire department resources.
The Fontana Fire and Rescue Department, along with numerous other fire departments from the area, responded to the scene.
Firefighters reported that there were deceased victims at the scene and requested the coroner, according to fire department radio traffic.
Emergency crews also reported that there was only one victim alive at the scene.
A Mercyhealth REACT medical helicopter was requested and landed at Big Foot Inn Restaurant, 11508 Route 14 in Harvard, to transport the injured victim.
Barry Carlson, who lives next door to the incident, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that two vehicles were involved.
One of the vehicles was traveling on State Line Road at a high rate of speed when the driver turned off their lights and ran the stop sign at the intersection at Route 14, causing a T-bone crash, Carlson said.
Both cars ended up hitting the house, with one of them becoming engulfed in flames.
Neighbors used a garden hose to try and extinguish the flames while attempting to rescue the two occupants in the car.
Carlson said his son was among those trying to rescue the victims but both of them were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the second car involved survived and was the one flown to the hospital.
“Very sad sequence of events. I wish people would understand that when you do stupid things, more times than not, innocent people get hurt,” Carlson said, adding that the crash was captured on video.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office asked motorists to avoid Route 14 and State Line Road due to the road closure for the investigation. The roadway was reopened by around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
McHenry County officials said that the crash happened on the Walworth County, Wisconsin, side of the intersection and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office has not yet released information on the cause of the crash.