Critical injuries were reported after a two-vehicle crash resulted in major damage, a fire that was extinguished by bystanders and one person being flown to the hospital in Richmond Sunday evening.
The Richmond Township Fire Protection District, Richmond Police Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 7:35 p.m. Sunday to Route 12 and Route 173, also known as Main Street and Kenosha Street, for a report of a vehicle crash with entrapment.
Initial reports indicated two vehicles were involved and they had possibly rolled over. It was unclear whether either car actually rolled over during the crash but both were upright at the scene.
Police officers first on the scene reported victims were unconscious and there was a fire in the vehicles.
Fire crews arrived and found a two-vehicle crash involving a car and an SUV, which had been towing a camper, fire officials said.
The cars came to rest on Kenosha Street just west of Main Street and a large debris field was seen.
The large camper had detached from the SUV and was blocking the roadway.
Both sustained heavy damage and there was one person in each car who was trapped. A business on the corner, Value Discount Flooring, was damaged in the crash along with a utility pole.
A LifeNet medical helicopter was requested to respond due to the extent of injuries.
A landing zone was established at the Richmond Fire Protection District station, 5601 Hunter Drive.
Fire officials said the helicopter landed at the firehouse and an ambulance transported a male victim to the landing zone after firefighters extricated him.
He was transferred to the flight crew and flown to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, which is a Level 1 trauma center.
Fire officials say he was in critical condition at the time of transport.
The second trapped victim, a female, was extricated and transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry. She was stable at the time of transport.
An employee at the nearby Gigi’s Cafe, named Charles, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he was inside working when he heard an explosion-like noise. “I knew it wasn’t fireworks,” he said.
Charles immediately looked outside to see the crash, with flames coming from the engine compartment area of the Toyota.
He quickly grabbed the restaurant’s fire extinguisher and ran outside.
Charles and another man both used their fire extinguishers on the fire.
Numerous other good Samaritans worked together to check and render aid to those involved in the crash.
“He’s breathing, he’s breathing!” Charles heard people saying about the driver of the Toyota.
The Spring Grove Fire Protection District, Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection, Wonder Lake Fire Protection District, McHenry Township Fire Protection District and Spring Grove Police Department also assisted during the incident.
The McHenry County Regional Crash Assistance Team responded to the scene to conduct a crash investigation.
Investigators were seen taking photos, measurements and conducting interviews with bystanders as part of the accident reconstruction.
Towing crews from Fox Recovery & Towing and Marathon Towing responded to remove the vehicles involved and help clean up the debris.
1-800-BOARDUP also responded and performed damage restoration for Value Discount Flooring.
The Richmond Police Department has not released information on the cause of the crash as of Monday morning.