Woman says insect distracted her, causing rollover on Rt. 176

A Marengo woman driving an SUV with her two young boys on board says she veered off Route 176 in Crystal Lake Tuesday morning due to an insect inside the vehicle.

The 1997 GMC Jimmy rolled over multiple times after turning into the ditch about a quarter-mile east of Bryn Mawr Lane, injuring the 25-year-old driver, Alma Mendez, according to police.

Mendez reported the she became distracted while attempting to remove the insect from the vehicle at about 8:35 a.m., police said.

Her two children, aged 2 and 6 weeks old, were both in child safety seats or seat-belted when the vehicle began to roll, and neither was injured, according to police.

Mendez was taken to Centegra Memorial Hospital in Woodstock with nonlife-threatening injuries, according to police.

Route 176 was reduced to one lane and intermittently blocked for about 40 minutes as police investigated and crews cleared debris and the badly damaged SUV.

Several passers-by stopped to help the family out of the vehicle, which ended up in a tree line on the side of the eastbound lanes.

Mendez was cited for improper lane use, operating an uninsured vehicle and driving without a license, according to police.