A taxi driver has died after she was found unresponsive and rushed to the hospital following a vehicle crash that shut down an intersection in Fox Lake for hours Friday morning.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Fox Lake Police Department responded around 7:17 a.m. Friday to the area of East Grand Avenue and Rollins Road in Fox Lake for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Fox Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Larry Van Hoorelbeke said fire crews arrived and found two vehicles involved with moderate to heavy damage.
One car, a Lexus SUV, was found in the intersection and the second car, a Chrysler Town and Country minivan, was found off the roadway into a group of trees.
The driver of the Chrysler appeared to have suffered a medical emergency that caused her to rear-end the Lexus and drive off the road, Van Hoorelbeke said.
A preliminary investigation showed that the black Lexus was stopped at the red light on Rollins Road at Grand Avenue, according to Fox Lake Police Department Sgt. Rick Howell.
The Chrysler was traveling westbound on Rollins Road and struck the Lexus from behind.
The Chrysler belonged to Topline Transportation of Waukegan, which offers transportation services for students as well as work and special events.
Howell said officers first on scene forced entry into the Chrysler and determined the 78-year-old Fox Lake woman was not breathing.
She was removed from the car and lifesaving measures, including CPR, were performed on her.
Paramedics quickly transported her to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry in critical condition, Van Hoorelbeke said.
Howell said the woman was later pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy is pending by the McHenry County Coroner’s Office and her identity has not been released yet.
The victim’s cause of death remains undetermined, Howell added.
Van Hoorelbeke said the woman was the sole occupant of the Chrysler. Two juveniles were inside the Lexus.
The two juveniles, who are from Round Lake, were evaluated by paramedics and released at the scene to their parents who arrived.
Police completely shut down the intersection and the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT), which consists of investigators from police departments throughout the county, was activated to respond.
Rollins Road and Grand Avenue were both reopened by around 10:45 a.m. following the investigation.