Tempel Farms horse trainer killled in crash

Friends of Madeleine Axelsson said the Swedish-born horse trainer was liked by more people than she could ever realize.

Axelsson was killed Wednesday when she was run down by a mini-van while crossing Hunt Club Road in front of Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek. She was 39.

Axelsson came to the farm in 2005 to train horses, said Courtney Tripp, program director of the Tempel Lipizzans at 39075 W. Hunt Club Road.

She said the woman was well liked by everyone she came across, including the horses she worked with.

"She was fun, vibrant, and just someone everyone liked to be around," she said. "She was very friendly and laughed a lot. She was very easy to be around, very vibrant and extremely good with the horses."

A minivan driven by Billie Roberts, 71, of Round Lake, was heading south on Hunt Club Road near Wadsworth Road when it struck Axelsson at 10:42 p.m., said Sgt. James Blackwood of the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Axelsson was pronounced dead at the scene, Blackwood said.

Blackwood said the accident remains under investigation, and that no citations have been issued.

Tripp said the farm was in a "complete state of shock" after hearing of the accident.

"Its been difficult around here," she said. "It's hard to believe she's gone. One of the other trainers said they were waiting for her to ride in the barn at any second. That's what its like."

She added, "We are all family here and Madeleine was one of our family members. All of us feel like a family to each other."

Funeral arrangements for the woman will not be figured out until family members arrive from Sweden Monday, Tripp said.