One person was found dead after a vehicle slammed into a tree and burst into flames, becoming fully engulfed with the driver still inside, on Route 173 near Harvard Wednesday evening.
The Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:03 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Route 173 and Oak Grove Road in unincorporated Harvard for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries and fire.
A 911 caller reported a car had crashed into a tree, caught fire and they believed someone was still inside the vehicle.
Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District Chief Thomas Linneman said firefighters arrived and found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.
The vehicle had crashed into a tree. Linneman said it is unknown what type of vehicle it was due to the heavy damage.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and found one occupant inside the car who was deceased, Linneman said.
No other patients were found at the scene, which occurred just west of Oak Grove Road in the 17000 block of Route 173.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office was notified and responded and the fire department cleared the scene, turning it over to the sheriff’s office and the coroner’s office for investigation, Linneman said.
Sheriff’s deputies shut down Route 173 between Nolan Road and Oak Grove Road for several hours during the investigation.
The coroner’s office is in the process of scheduling an autopsy on the victim, whose identity has not been released.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office has not released further information surrounding the crash as of Thursday afternoon.