18-year-old charged with DUI in crash that killed 2 young people in McHenry Monday
Two people, a 19-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy, were killed in an early morning crash on Monday in McHenry.
The driver of the vehicle that collided with them, identified Monday afternoon by McHenry police as Jason K. Land, 18, of Fox River Grove, has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing death along with misdemeanor DUI counts and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, according to a press release from the McHenry Police Department.
He initially was taken to an area hospital with what was described as serious injuries, but has since been released to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, according to the release.
Authorities have not released the names of those killed or injured pending notification of families.
The intersection where the crash happened — Richmond and McCullom Lake roads — was closed for seven hours while the fatal crash was investigated.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District and McHenry police were called about 12:30 a.m. to the intersection for a reported three-vehicle crash.
A 2006 Audi driven by Land was traveling south on Richmond Road at a high rate of speed when it disregarded a red light at the intersection and collided with a 2015 Nissan Sentra attempting to turn left onto McCullom Lake Road, police said. A 2003 Toyota Echo that was parked in a lot on Richmond Road was also hit.
According to a press release from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, two victims were on the ground when firefighters arrived, and a third person was trapped in a vehicle and had to be removed.
The McHenry County Regional Crash Assistance Team responded to the crash scene to assist in the investigation.
Anyone with information related to the crash is asked to contact the Criminal Investigation Division of the McHenry Police Department at (815) 363-2599.
Those wishing to pass along anonymous information are encouraged to call the McHenry Police Department’s tip line at (815) 363-2124. All calls made to the tip line are anonymous.