Fatal Kane County crash blamed on Elburn woman

A 44-year-old Elburn woman was blamed Wednesday for a head-on crash in Sugar Grove Township that killed another driver.

A Kane County coroner's jury ruled as a homicide the death of William McKenzie, 54, of Marengo, who was killed in a March 20 collision on Route 47.

The jury placed blame on Linda L. Knotts, who police said prompted numerous driving complaints and was ticketed just moments before the crash.

"We have numerous people indicating Linda Knotts was driving recklessly," Kane County sheriff's investigator Sal Rodriguez said at an inquest in Geneva.

Authorities said McKenzie was northbound on Route 47 near Merrill Road about 5:30 p.m. when Knotts' yellow pickup truck went into the oncoming lane and slammed into his Ford van, with the truck coming to rest upside down on top of the other vehicle.

McKenzie died at the scene. Knotts was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.

On Wednesday, Rodriguez said witnesses called police to complain that Knotts had been driving erratically and "at a high rate of speed" before the crash, and even passed southbound vehicles on the northbound shoulder during rush-hour traffic.

Minutes before the collision, Knotts was ticketed for passing in a no-passing zone. Subsequent to the crash, she was cited with an additional no-passing violation, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving in the wrong lane, Rodriquez said.

"I have interviewed Linda Knotts three times," he said. "Each and every time, it was a different account of what occurred just before the accident. I don't believe she ever gave a specific reason for why this occurred."

McKenzie's wife and daughter were present at the inquest with their attorney but declined to address the jury.

Rodriguez said the crash remains under investigation.