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Driver killed, six others injured in Fox Lake crash

At least one person has died and six others were taken to the hospital after a crash involving a pickup truck and three motorcycles on State Park Road about a quarter mile north of Route 12 in Fox Lake Saturday, authorities said.

The driver of the truck was traveling south on State Park when the vehicle veered into oncoming traffic, collided with two motorcycles and burst into flames, Fox Lake Police Chief Russell Laine said. A third motorcycle slid down on the road to avoid the crash.

The driver of the truck - badly burned from the fire - was killed, Laine said. Authorities are working to identify the person. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday, Lake County Deputy Coroner Orlando Portillo said.

Police were called at about 3 p.m. to the scene of the crash, just north of Benjamin Avenue. Witnesses were "very heroic" and pulled some of the injured motorcyclists away from the fiery wreckage, Laine said.

Six people who were riding on the motorcycles were taken to either Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry or Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Laine did not immediately know the extent of their injuries, but he said several were "in very critical condition."

Police were working with the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team to interview witnesses and determine the cause of the accident.

By 9 p.m. a stretch of State Park Road was reopened to traffic.

A stretch of State Park Roads in Fox Lake was closed to traffic while police investigated the cause of the crash. Joe Shuman/For The Daily Herald
Fox Lake Fire Department investigates a crash between a pickup truck and three motorcycles in which one person died and six others were injured near State Park and Grass Lake roads in Fox Lake. Joe Shuman/For The Daily Herald
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