Five injured when car crashes into Grayslake area church

Five people were transported to the hospital Saturday morning after a vehicle drove through the front doors of Wildwood Presbyterian Church near Grayslake, where a crowd of people were collecting food for a pantry, officials said.

Grayslake Fire Department said in a news release that five patients were transported to Advocate Condell Hospital in Libertyville and one other patient was treated and released at the scene. No life threatening injuries are suspected, officials said.

A female worker on the food drive was pinned between the bumper of the 2002 Toyota Camry and a wall and had to be extricated by Grayslake firefighters. Officials said that effort took nearly a half-hour.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the car driven by a 72-year-old woman coming to the food drive accelerated in the parking lot for an unknown reason and crashed into the building shortly after 8:30 a.m., Lake County Sheriff's Police spokesman Christopher Covelli said.

Some people were hit by the car and others by flying debris, he said, adding that the Technical Crash Investigations Unit is studying the accident and it is too soon to know if citations will be issued. County building inspectors examined the structure and ruled that it is sound, but the main entrance will have to be boarded up.

All Sunday classes were canceled, but a worship service still will be held, according to a statement on the church's Facebook page.

The Grayslake Fire Department received assistance from Gurnee, Lake Villa, Fox Lake, Newport, Libertyville, Mundelein, Wauconda, Countryside, Long Grove and Round Lake fire personnel. The church is at 18630 West Old Gages Lake Road.

Daily Herald staff writers James Kane and Kerry Lester contributed.