Scooter driver airlifted after McHenry crash

Rescue crews airlifted a 54-year-old McHenry man to a hospital Tuesday morning after the scooter he was driving collided with a car near the entrance to a busy shopping center.

Steven Conley later was treated and released from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for injuries suffered in the crash at about 8:48 a.m. outside the McHenry Walmart store on Route 31.

McHenry police said Conley was driving his scooter in the southbound center lane of the highway when he struck a Pontiac Sunfire that pulled into his path from the store's north entrance.

The view of the Pontiac's driver, Thomas Pomije, 50, of Lakemoor, may have been obstructed by a vehicle pulling into the parking lot at the same time, police Sgt. Laura King said. Police nonetheless ticketed Pomije for failure to yield while turning left.

King said drivers should be extra cautious this time of year with more motorcycles and similar vehicles on the road.

"You've really got to be careful," she said.