Huntley police piecing together how crash that split car in two occurred

Investigators are trying to piece together what caused an early Sunday single-vehicle crash in Huntley that split the car in two pieces and seriously injured the driver.

A 1999 Audi was traveling west on Algonquin Road when it swung sideways and struck a traffic signal pole on the northwest corner of Algonquin and Haligus roads, less than half a mile from Centegra Hospital-Huntley, police said.

"The force of the impact and the speed caused the car to split behind the driver compartment," Huntley Deputy Chief Michael Klunk said. "We don't know if he was trying to go straight and lost control or negotiate a turn on Haligus Road."

The two parts of the vehicle and other pieces were found scattered 30 feet apart.

"The front end and the rear end are more rigid. On the sides, you don't have the engine, you don't have the frame so you have less protection ... that may be why it split like that," Klunk said.

Klunk said the roadway was dry where the crash occurred at 2:30 a.m. and there was no construction or traffic in the area. The speed limit there is 40 mph on Algonquin Road, and it's unclear how fast the driver was going as there are no cameras at that intersection, he added.

No charges have been filed as yet against the 35-year-old male driver who was cut from the vehicle by firefighters and taken to Centegra with severe injuries. His condition also is unknown.

Deputy Fire Chief Al Schlick said it took firefighters only five minutes to get the driver out since half the car was missing.

"It's fairly simple," he said, adding firefighters reclined the seat and pulled him out with a little maneuvering, keeping the spine and neck as straight as possible.

The only damage to the pole was to the pedestrian crossing button, 3½ feet above the ground, and a broken aluminum casing at the bottom.

"The pole wasn't bent, knocked down, the base wasn't disrupted," Klunk said. "The actual structure was not damaged."

Additional details will be released once the investigation is completed.