The coroner has released the identity of a woman who died after a police officer responding to a call was involved in a four-vehicle crash that left a man seriously injured and the officer also hospitalized in Spring Grove.
An autopsy performed Wednesday showed Dawn Smith, 65, of Spring Grove, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head area, according to McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein.
The Spring Grove Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 2:05 p.m. Sunday to Route 12 and Spring Grove Road in Spring Grove for a vehicle crash with injuries.
A Spring Grove Police Department officer called for help over the police radio, saying that another vehicle had struck his squad car at the intersection.
Fire department radio traffic indicated that a nurse at the scene reported a female victim was unconscious and barely breathing.
Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the scene from various area fire departments.
Fire crews arriving at the scene reported heavy damage. A bystander reported four vehicles were involved.
A preliminary investigation shows a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, a Spring Grove Police Department squad car, was traveling westbound on Route 12 with its emergency lights and siren activated, according to the sheriff’s office.
The officer was responding to assist the Richmond Police Department with a domestic disturbance call.
The traffic signal for westbound Route 12 was red as the Chevrolet entered the intersection, sheriff’s officials said.
The Chevrolet collided with a 2015 Kia Soul, which was traveling southbound on Winn Road.
The collision caused the Chevrolet to enter the eastbound lane where it struck a 2022 Jeep Compass head-on, the sheriff’s office said.
The Jeep was then struck by an eastbound 2023 Honda CR-V.
Sheriff’s officials said the driver of the Kia, who Rein identified on Thursday as Smith, was transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry where she was pronounced dead.
Another occupant of the Kia, a 65-year-old man, was flown to Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital — Riverside in Rockford with serious injuries.
The driver of the Chevrolet squad car, a 60-year-old man, was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released, the sheriff’s office said.
The driver and passenger of the Jeep were also transported to a local hospital and later released. The driver and two passengers of the Honda CR-V were uninjured.
The engine of one of the vehicles, a green Kia, was detached from the car and lying in the road.
Spring Grove Fire Chief Paul Klicker initially said a total of eight people were injured and four of them were transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry.
Two medical helicopters were requested to respond. A LifeNet medical helicopter landed across the street near the former Intermatic, 7777 Winn Road.
That helicopter did not end up transporting any victim. The flight crew instead went in the back of an ambulance, which transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry, indicating the victim was in too critical a condition for air transport.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital after Smith had died around 4 p.m. Sunday.
Rein said toxicology testing is currently pending on Smith and her final cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
The second helicopter called to the scene was initially supposed to be Flight For Life out of Wisconsin but it was later unavailable and replaced by a Mercyhealth REACT helicopter.
The REACT helicopter landed at the Richmond Township Fire Protection District station where an ambulance brought the 65-year-old male victim and transferred him to the flight crew.
He was flown to Javon Bea Hospital — Riverside in Rockford, Klicker said.
A gas station clerk nearby said one of the injured victims was in the grass face down and another was down in the middle of the road following the crash.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert saying the intersection would be shut down for the investigation and asked motorists to avoid the area.
Route 12 was completely shut down, along with Winn Road and Spring Grove Road, just before 9 p.m. Sunday. Spring Grove Road turns into Winn Road just past Route 12.
The Richmond Police Department, McHenry County Conservation Police Department, Richmond Fire Protection District, McHenry Township Fire Protection District, Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Mercyhealth MD-1 also assisted during the incident.
The crash remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit. “More information will be released as it becomes available,” the agency said.