Owner of Arlington Heights barber shop dies in crash

The popular owner of a longtime Arlington Heights barber shop was killed Sunday when his motorcycle collided with a car near Rand Road and Winslowe Drive in Palatine.

Corey Hindes, 54, was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m. Sunday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he had been taken for treatment after the crash occurred about six hours earlier.

According to Palatine police, Hindes was driving his motorcycle northbound on Rand Road when a southbound Mercedes attempted to turn left in front of him at the intersection with Winslowe Drive, causing Hindes' motorcycle then strike the passenger side of the car.

Hindes owned the North Arlington Barber Shop at 130 E. Rand Road, which has operated in the village since 1970, according to an online profile. He began working there when he was 18, according to the profile, and later inherited the business from his father, said friend Greg Tosto.

The barber shop was closed Monday. Signs in its windows let customers know it is "closed until further notice due to death in the family."

Tosto, who said he's been friends with Hindes for 37 years, described him as "larger than life."

"He was a big guy, but he was a teddy bear," Tosto said.

Tosto said Hindes was a charitable man who took care of his family and looked out for his friends.

"When you walked into the shop you would see him joking and laughing," he added.

Hindes is survived by his wife and three children, Tosto said.

The driver and only occupant of the Mercedes, an 89-year-old Mount Prospect man, was not injured, police said. Although alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash, he was taken to a hospital for chemical testing as required by state law, police said.

He later was ticketed cited for failing to yield turning left, and has a Nov. 1 court date in Rolling Meadows. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the man.