A 78-year-old man has died months after a head-on crash that also left his wife dead after a van crossed into their lane and struck their vehicle head-on on Route 59 in North Barrington.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department responded around 11:15 a.m. on March 27 to the area of Route 59 and Golfview Drive in North Barrington for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Matthew Harmon said a two-vehicle crash occurred south of Golfview Drive on Route 59.
A preliminary investigation showed that a Ford van was traveling northbound on Route 59 when it crossed the center line for unknown reasons.
The Ford, driven by a 23-year-old Round Lake Heights man, collided head-on with a southbound Subaru SUV, Harmon said.
Lake Zurich Fire/Rescue Chief David Pilgard said the two occupants of the Subaru were trapped in the wreckage. The driver of the Ford was not trapped.
Pilgard said that additional resources were called to the scene due to the complexity of the incident, including the extensive damage and victims trapped.
Three fire engines, four ambulances and three chiefs responded.
Firefighters first extricated one of the occupants of the Subaru and transported them to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Pilgard said firefighters later extricated the second occupant of the Subaru, which was a more complex process, and transported them to Advocate Condell Medical Center.
The driver of the Ford was transported to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
He suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Harmon said.
The two occupants of the Subaru included a 78-year-old Lake Barrington man, who was driving, and a 70-year-old Lake Barrington woman, who was a passenger.
Fire officials reported the two occupants suffered serious injuries.
Harmon said the 70-year-old woman was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. The two drivers were also hospitalized.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Technical Crash Investigation Team was called to the scene to conduct an investigation.
All lanes of Route 59 between Miller Road and Signal Hill Road were shut down for several hours for the investigation.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said that the passenger in the Subaru, identified as Diane McEwen, 70, of Lake Barrington, had been in the intensive care unit at Advocate Condell Medical Center since the crash.
McEwen died on April 5 as a result of complications of blunt force injuries due to the crash, Newton said.
Her husband, Fred McEwen, 78, of Lake Barrington, died last Sunday at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington after being transferred to the intensive care unit from a nursing home.
The coroner’s office said they are reviewing “copious amounts” of medical records dating back to the crash.
A cause of death has not been determined yet but it appears to be related to complications of the injuries he suffered in the crash, Newton said.
The sheriff’s office has not released an update on the crash or whether the van driver will be charged.