Alcohol a factor in fatal ATV crash near Cary

Alcohol played a role in an early Sunday morning all-terrain vehicle ride near Cary that turned fatal when it slammed into a tree, killing one Cary man and hurting another, police said today.

But due to the ongoing investigation, police cannot say if one or both of the men riding the ATV were drinking, said Sgt. Karen Groves of the McHenry County Sheriff's Office.

Police also are not releasing which man drove the vehicle and do not yet know how fast they were going.

Scott L. Hull, 28, of the 500 block of Cove Drive in Cary, was pronounced dead Sunday at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.

Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said Hull died of head and neck trauma; toxicology results are pending.

The vehicle's owner, James W. Kalal, 26, was treated at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Neither man was wearing a helmet, Groves said.

According to a news release, the Cary Fire Protection District and officers from Cary and the sheriff's office arrived at the crash site on Spring Beach Way and Ebert Drive just after 3 a.m.

Police say that the pair were riding the four-wheeler on Spring Beach Road when it left the street and crashed into a heavily wooded area.

It is illegal to drive ATVs on McHenry County roads and their use is restricted to private property, police said.

Groves said Sunday's fatal crash marked the first of 2009 that involves an ATV.

Daily Herald Staff Writer Lee Filas contributed to this report.