The coroner has released the identity of a 23-year-old man from Woodstock who died after the sheriff said his speeding truck slammed into trees, resulting in heavy damage near Crystal Lake Sunday.
An autopsy performed Monday showed that Daniel King, 23, of Woodstock, died as a result of blunt force injuries from a vehicle crash, McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein said Tuesday.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 2:19 a.m. Sunday to the 9400 block of Butternut Drive in unincorporated Crystal Lake for a report of a vehicle crash with entrapment.
Sheriff’s deputies first on the scene reported the male driver, later identified as King, was unconscious and not breathing, according to fire department radio traffic.
They also reported King was trapped in the vehicle and they were unable to open the driver’s side door.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Jim Sustek said fire crews arrived on the scene within six minutes and found a single-vehicle crash.
The car had driven off the roadway and crashed into a tree, Sustek said. The vehicle was heavily damaged.
Paramedics assessed King and the severity of the crash and determined he was deceased at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said a preliminary investigation shows that the 2024 Toyota Tacoma was traveling westbound on Butternut Drive when King failed to negotiate a curve.
The Toyota exited the roadway to the south, traveled across Chestnut Drive and struck several trees.
King, who was the sole occupant of the Toyota, was pronounced dead on the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit responded.
Firefighters remained on the scene to assist the sheriff’s office with the investigation and to assist in removing King from the car.
The coroner arrived and firefighters performed extrication to free King from the wreckage just before 5:30 a.m.
Speed, weather conditions and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the crash, sheriff’s officials said. Toxicology testing is pending, Rein said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.