A female victim died after she became trapped in a car that crashed next to a house and became fully engulfed in flames near Marengo Monday evening, authorities said.
The Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:58 p.m. Monday to the 22800 block of River Road in unincorporated Marengo for a report of a vehicle crash with entrapment.
Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said crews were responding when they were informed the crashed vehicle was on fire.
A female victim was reported to be trapped inside the burning car, which was resting against a house after striking a tree, Vucha said.
“Due to the potential for the structure to catch fire, the call was upgraded to a structure fire response, prompting resources from Woodstock and Union to be dispatched,” Vucha said.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived first and began to use fire extinguishers in an attempt to dampen the fire.
Their efforts were unsuccessful as the fire quickly grew out of control.
Vucha said firefighters arrived and found a small sedan fully engulfed in flames in close proximity to the house.
The home had begun to catch fire and the siding had started to melt.
Firefighters quickly extinguished both the vehicle and house fire within minutes of arrival, preventing further damage to the residence, Vucha said.
The additional responding fire crews were returned prior to their arrival.
The vehicle was occupied by an adult male and a female, who authorities said was unknown whether she was a juvenile or an adult.
Vucha said the man, who was a passenger, had exited the vehicle prior to the arrival of emergency personnel.
He was transported by ambulance to Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital — Riverside in Rockford in serious condition, the sheriff’s office said.
The female occupant, who was the driver, was located trapped inside the vehicle after the fire was extinguished and pronounced dead.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office responded and is working on identifying the victim.
No one inside the home was injured and no other vehicles were reported to be involved.
An investigation showed the Toyota was traveling westbound on River Road when it failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway, the sheriff’s office said.
The Toyota traveled off the roadway to the north and struck a tree and a post before catching on fire up against the attached garage of the house.
The sheriff’s office reported River Road was shut down between Cox Road and Hawthorne Road for hours due to the investigation and reopened around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The crash is being investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.