The sheriff’s office is urging drivers to slow down after two more crashes on the same morning in a curve on Rollins Road near Lake Villa, one of which left three people hospitalized.
The Grayslake Fire Department, Gurnee Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:53 a.m. on September 20 to Rollins Road west of Route 45 in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a crash.
Fire crews arrived and reported finding a three-vehicle crash in the curve.
An investigation showed a 30-year-old Wauconda man driving a Ford Transit was traveling eastbound on Rollins Road about a quarter of a mile west of Route 45, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said.
The Ford struck a large puddle and hydroplaned, causing the van to quickly slow.
A 30-year-old Round Lake Beach man driving a Toyota Tacoma was directly behind the Ford and struck its rear, Covelli said.
The impact pushed the Ford into the westbound lane and into a Hyundai Tucson, driven by a 36-year-old Round Lake Heights woman.
The Ford and Toyota drivers and a passenger in the Ford were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, Covelli said.
The driver of the Hyundai refused medical attention.
Rollins Road was shut down in both directions west of Route 45 following the crash.
Covelli said the Toyota driver was cited for following too close and driving too fast for the roadway conditions.
A second crash happened around 12 p.m. the same day in the same curve on Rollins Road just west of Route 45.
A Honda Pilot, driven by a 17-year-old Hainesville teen, was traveling eastbound in the outside lane while it was raining, Covelli said.
The teen said he drove over a puddle of water that caused the Honda to hydroplane, according to Covelli.
The teen lost control and struck an eastbound Ford Edge in the inside lane driven by a 62-year-old Round Lake Park man.
No one was injured but the Ford had to be towed from the scene due to damage, Covelli said.
A car traveling eastbound drove off the road in the same curve and struck a utility pole on August 30, sending a juvenile and an adult passenger to the hospital.
A witness told Lake and McHenry County Scanner at the time that he saw the car driving 140 mph down Rollins Road in the rain moments before that crash.
Grayslake Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Weidman said after that crash that his department had responded to numerous crashes at the same location and transported many injured victims to the hospital.
Covelli said deputies have conducted hundreds of traffic stops on Rollins Road this year, with most of them for speeding and the majority along the stretch where the crashes happened.
“We understand the concerns about speeding along this stretch of Rollins Road, and our deputies will continue enforcing the speed limit and other traffic laws,” Covelli said. “This is not a roadway for drivers to treat like a racetrack.”
“Speeding puts everyone at risk, particularly when road conditions are wet and drivers have less time to react,” Covelli said.
“We urge motorists to slow down, drive according to the conditions, and recognize that their choices behind the wheel can have serious consequences for themselves and others,” he said.