Wauconda police: Motorcyclist in critical condition after crashing while fleeing

A man was severely injured Thursday when he crashed his motorcycle into a marsh while evading a Wauconda police officer, authorities said.

The officer saw a man on a motorcycle without registration and tried to conduct a traffic stop at Brown Street and Slocum Lake Road at 4:43 p.m., according to a news release from the Wauconda Police Department.

The driver, 26-year-old Kenneth M. Farrar of the 2700 block of Route 176 in Wauconda, accelerated quickly and continued north on Brown Street through a residential street, driving about 100 miles an hour, the news release said.

When Farrar didn't stop, the police officer turned off his emergency sirens and began patrolling the area where the motorcycle was last seen, according to the news release. Soon after, a resident on the 500 block of Farmhill Circle reported a crash.

Police located Farrar and his motorcycle in the marsh area north of Brown Street and Farmhill Circle. He was unconscious and facedown in the water, the news release said. Officers pulled Farrar out of the water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

Farrar was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in critical condition. The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team is investigating the case.