A 65-year-old man has died in the hospital and been identified after he was struck by a vehicle, which had a family with children inside, near Wonder Lake Thursday evening.
The Wonder Lake Fire Protection District, Wonder Lake Police Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6 p.m. Thursday to the 7300 block of Barnard Mill Road in unincorporated Wonder Lake for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Wonder Lake Deputy Fire Chief Bill Oeffling said fire crews arrived to find a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the victim as Jerry Williams, 65, of Wonder Lake.
Williams was initially reported to be unconscious but breathing when fire crews were responding.
He was then reported to have stopped breathing and CPR was being initiated, according to fire department radio traffic.
Paramedics reported Williams had agonal breathing but then stopped breathing while at the scene.
A medical helicopter was requested for transport but due to the length of time it was estimated to take to arrive, a determination was made to cancel the helicopter, according to Wonder Lake Fire Chief Matt Yegge.
Paramedics transported Williams to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry in critical condition.
Yegge said the victim was alive when they arrived at the hospital.
The sheriff’s office said Williams was later flown to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he died in the intensive care unit.
A preliminary investigation shows a 2016 GMC Acadia was traveling eastbound on Barnard Mill Road.
The front right of the GMC struck Williams in the eastbound lane of traffic, sheriff’s officials said.
The GMC Acadia remained at the scene and was driven by a 34-year-old woman.
She had a 35-year-old male as well as four children, who are from Genoa City, Wisconsin, as passengers in the car.
A second ambulance from the Richmond Township Fire Protection District was called to the scene to evaluate the occupants of the vehicle, who were uninjured and declined transport, Oeffling said.
All occupants were properly wearing seat belts or restraint systems, the sheriff’s office said.
There was no airbag deployment and the driver is cooperating in the investigation.
An initial coroner’s office investigation showed Williams died as a result of blunt force injuries from the crash, Banek said.
Barnard Mill Road was shut down between Howe Road and Summit Drive for several hours during the crash investigation before being reopened around 10:50 p.m.
The incident remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit.