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Teen killed in N. Aurora as car flies into house

A 19-year-old Aurora man was killed Tuesday afternoon in North Aurora when his vehicle sped through a stop sign, was sent airborne for about 80 feet and crashed deep into a house, authorities said.

Police said Max J. Dobner was quickly pulled from the vehicle lodged in a baby's bedroom but was pronounced dead shortly after at Provena Mercy Hospital.

Dobner crashed into a yellow ranch home about 4:15 p.m. on the east side of Route 31 near the intersection of Mooseheart Road, according to the Kane County sheriff's office.

Kane County sheriff's Lt. Chris Collins said the three family members at the home on the 300 block of North Lincolnway — husband, wife and baby — were in their backyard when the crash occurred. They were not injured.

“About an hour earlier from the accident, the baby was taking a nap,” North Aurora Fire District Capt. Todd Zies said.

Police said Dobner was speeding in a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus east on Mooseheart Road, blew through a stop sign at the T-intersection at Route 31 and was sent airborne when the four-door struck a retaining wall. The vehicle flew about 15 feet in the air over an 80-foot stretch before hitting a tree and then the home, Zies said.

“The car hit with such force the motor came dislodged from the vehicle and went in through two more rooms and ended up in a bedroom in the back of the house,” Zies said. “It wiped out four rooms: a living room, bedroom, bathroom and another bedroom on the other side.”

The Batavia Fire Department assisted North Aurora firefighters at the scene, first putting out a minor fire inside a bedroom started by the car engine and later shoring up the severely damaged home.

“It looked like a bomb went off, it hit so hard,” Zies said.

A stretch of Route 31 was shut down between Oak Street and Millview Drive until 8:15 p.m., causing major traffic jams in both directions, according to police.

Mooseheart Road is a two-lane stretch with a 40 mph speed limit that ends with a stop sign at the intersection of Route 31. Route 31 does not have a stop sign at the intersection.

“It could have been catastrophic if he had hit someone in the intersection,” Zies said.

Lt. Chris Collins of the Kane County Sheriff's Office said investigators are still trying to determine what caused Dobner to speed through the intersection, but said drugs or alcohol do not seem to be a motivating factor in the crash.

“But, we won't know for sure until the autopsy is completed and toxicology results are in,” he said Wednesday morning.

He also said it remains unclear if Dobner was distracted while driving, or if the accident was caused by either medical or mechanical reasons.

He said the Kane County Coroner's Office is planning to hold the autopsy Thursday morning, but toxicology results will not be available for about two weeks.

He said investigators from the Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team are continuing to work the case.

Fire officials said the damaged residence is uninhabitable for the time being, and the family has found temporary housing.

  According to a North Aurora Fire Protection District officer, a car driven by a 19-year-old man east on Mooseheart Road crossed Route 31 and hit a large tree before crashing into a home in North Aurora Tuesday afternoon. The driver died. He was alone in the car. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  North Aurora Fire Protection District Capt. Todd Zies makes phone calls at the scene of a fatal accident Tuesday afternoon. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  North Aurora Fire Protection District Capt. Todd Zies makes phone calls at the scene of a fatal accident Tuesday afternoon. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  North Aurora Fire Protection District Capt. Todd Zies makes phone calls at the scene of a fatal accident Tuesday afternoon. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
This aerial view reveals where a car struck a home along Route 31 at Mooseheart Road on Tuesday afternoon. COURTESY OF ABC 7 CHICAGO