One person was killed and others were injured after witnesses say a speeding boat rode over another boat on the Fox River near McHenry Saturday afternoon.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 2:30 p.m. Saturday to the 1800 block of South Fernwood Lane in unincorporated McHenry for a report of a boat crash.
Fire crews arrived and found a crash involving two boats on the Fox River south of the McHenry Dam after receiving multiple 911 calls about the incident.
An occupant of one of the boats was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to fire department radio traffic.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene to take possession of the victim for an autopsy.
All other occupants involved in the crash were out of the water when the fire department arrived.
McHenry resident Cody Bingham told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he was at a celebration of life party at a home on the east side of the Fox River.
He was among the first people at the scene and found a female dead.
Bingham brought the small white vessel, in which the victim was an occupant, to a nearby dock on the east side of the Fox River.
The second person on the smaller boat was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
The second boat involved, which was a larger triple-engine vessel, came to rest partially off the Fox River in a wooded area.
Bystanders said the two boats were both traveling north on the river when the bigger boat was speeding and ran over the smaller boat in a no-wake zone.
The occupants of the offending boat, which reportedly had at least two or three people on it, fled from the vessel, witnesses said.
A bystander chased down one of them, suspected to be the operator, and another reportedly left the scene in an Uber. A police canine and officers were also actively searching the area.
Fire officials said the Fox River was closed “indefinitely” between the Stratton Lock and Holiday Hills. “No traffic allowed due to a boat accident.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Police also responded to the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.