Speed, weather played role in fatal Woodstock-area crash
Authorities say speed and weather conditions were factors in the crash that killed three Woodstock men when their SUV hit a tree early Sunday near Woodstock, officials said.
The 1994 Jeep Cherokee was northbound on the 3100 block of Lily Pond Road shortly after 3:30 a.m. when it left the road south of McConnell Road and struck a tree, the McHenry County sheriff's office said.
The driver, Ryan Fleming, 20, and two of the passengers, Daisen Hollands, 21, and Quinlan Hartney, 20, were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies performed Monday revealed Fleming died from blunt trauma to the chest, Hollands died from blunt trauma to the spine and chest and Hartney died from blunt trauma to the chest, according to the McHenry County coroner's office.
A fourth 20-year-old Woodstock man who suffered serious injuries was taken to a hospital in Huntley and later transferred in serious condition to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. His status is unknown at this time.
The Jeep was not equipped with air bags and it is believed none of the occupants were wearing seat belts, authorities said.
About 5 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff's office posted a travel advisory on Facebook citing dense fog and icy roads.
"Speed and the weather definitely are contributing factors to the accident happening," sheriff's office public information officer Sandra Rogers said adding, officials haven't yet determined how fast the SUV was traveling. "The road is curvy. It's not one of those where we get called out to on a continuous basis."
In 2018, there have been a handful of other crashes along Lily Pond Road, but none fatal, she said.
The crash remains under investigation by the McHenry County sheriff's major crash investigations unit and the McHenry County coroner's' office. Woodstock police and the Woodstock Fire Protection District also responded to the crash.