A car drove off Route 12 and became submerged in a pond on a care facility property near Lake Zurich, prompting a police search for the occupants who fled early Sunday morning.
The Wauconda Fire District and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:19 a.m. Sunday to Mount St. Joseph, 24955 North Route 12 in unincorporated Lake Zurich, for a report of a water rescue.
Wauconda Fire District Battalion Chief John Spratt said it was reported that a vehicle was submerged in a pond on the grounds of Mount St. Joseph.
Mount St. Joseph is a non-profit intermediate care facility for women with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to its website.
It was founded in 1935 on 60 acres of farm land and later grew to 160 acres with a residential facility equipped to serve up to 130 women and a day program that serves more than 50 adults.
Fire crews arrived and found a vehicle that had been traveling on Route 12 when it traveled through a fence and entered the pond, Spratt said.
The vehicle came to rest approximately 50 feet from shore in the pond.
The vehicle was submerged in water up to its windows with the airbags deployed.
Spratt said the driver’s side window was open and the vehicle appeared to be unoccupied.
Two firefighters entered the water and swam to the vehicle to search and confirm there were no occupants inside.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and conducted a canine search for the vehicle’s occupants.
The track ended at the intersection of Route 12 and West Valentine Court, approximately a quarter mile north of where the vehicle entered the pond, without locating the driver, Spratt said.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said the hit-and-run crash occurred sometime between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Sheriff’s deputies, including a canine team and drone unit, searched the area but were unable to locate the driver and passenger.
“Evidence at the scene indicates the occupants likely exited the pond and left the area on foot,” Covelli said.
Wauconda Fire District personnel remained on the scene to assist the tow company with removing the vehicle from the water.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.