Lake and McHenry County Scanner

7 hospitalized after car crosses into opposite lanes, causing 5-vehicle crash in Gurnee

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 06:18 PM PDT

Emergency crews respond to a five-vehicle crash with injuries on Delany Road near Porett Road in Gurnee Thursday evening. | Photo: Lake County PASSAGE

Seven people were taken to area hospitals after a car crossed into opposite lanes of traffic, causing a five-vehicle crash in Gurnee Thursday evening, police said.

The Gurnee Police Department and Gurnee Fire Department responded around 5 p.m. Thursday to North Delany Road and Porett Drive in Gurnee for a report of a multi-vehicle crash with injuries.

Emergency crews arrived and located multiple vehicles with significant damage, Gurnee Police Department Public Information Officer Shawn Gaylor said.

The initial investigation shows a 2019 Honda sedan, driven by a 32-year-old Waukegan man, was traveling southbound on Delany Road when it crossed the center line and entered oncoming traffic.

The Honda crashed into a 2006 Nissan sedan, causing it to roll over, Gaylor said.

The Honda continued traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Delany Road and crashed into two other vehicles.

A fifth vehicle hit debris lying in the roadway, Gaylor said.

Additional ambulances were requested from the Newport Township Fire Protection District and Waukegan Fire Department, according to fire radio traffic.

A total of four ambulances responded to the scene.

Paramedics transported seven people to area hospitals including Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan and Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital.

All seven people had non-life-threatening injuries, Gaylor added.

All lanes of Delany Road were closed for approximately one hour while emergency crews worked the scene.

Additional information is not immediately available as Gurnee police actively investigate the crash.

2 hospitalized after crash involving USPS mail truck, 2 other vehicles in McHenry

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 05:09 PM PDT

A multiple-vehicle crash left two people injured Wednesday afternoon near Woodlawn Park Avenue and Chapel Hill Road near McHenry. | Photo: Joe Shuman/J. Shuman Photography (2022)

Two people were transported to a hospital after a car drove into oncoming traffic in McHenry and hit a USPS truck, causing a pickup truck to become involved, police said.

The McHenry Police Department and McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Chapel Hill Road and Woodlawn Park Avenue in McHenry for a vehicle crash with injuries.

McHenry Police Department Public Affairs Officer Michael Spohn told Lake and McHenry County Scanner the incident involved three vehicles.

A minivan was traveling southbound on Chapel Hill Road approaching Woodlawn Park Avenue.

 

A USPS mail truck was pulled over at a mailbox on the northbound side of the road with a Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck traveling slowly behind it.

A multiple-vehicle crash left two people injured Wednesday afternoon near Woodlawn Park Avenue and Chapel Hill Road near McHenry. | Photo: Joe Shuman/J. Shuman Photography (2022)

The minivan drifted out of its lane and into the northbound lane, striking the mail truck, Spohn said.

The mail truck was then pushed back into the Chevrolet pickup truck.

Spohn said the female driver of the mail truck and the male driver of the minivan were both injured and transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry.

A LifeNet medical helicopter had initially been requested to the scene but was later canceled.

The conditions of both drivers were not known but their injuries were not life-threatening.

The Johnsburg Police Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene to assist.

The male driver of the minivan was cited for improper lane usage, Spohn said.

Charges filed against man who was shot by sheriff’s deputies after pointing rifle at them near Harvard

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 02:44 PM PDT

File Photo – McHenry County Sheriff’s Office | Photo: Alex Vucha / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

A 58-year-old man was charged Wednesday for allegedly pointing a rifle and threatening to kill a sheriff’s deputy moments before deputies shot him near Harvard earlier this month.

Randall B. Little, 58, of the 19900 block of Streit Road in Harvard, was charged with armed violence, aggravated intimidation of a peace officer, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, intimidation, threatening a public official, unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of aggravated assault and unauthorized possession of cannabis sativa plants.

Little was allegedly armed with a .300 caliber blackout short barrel rifle on April 1, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

Little pointed the rifle at a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy and threatened to kill her if she did not leave his property, the complaint said.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office had responded to Little’s residence in the 19900 block of Streit Road in unincorporated Harvard around 8 p.m. that evening after receiving a call to check on the wellbeing of a subject.

The sheriff’s office said the “armed confrontation” resulted in deputies discharging their firearms, striking the man.

No deputies were injured during the incident.

Lifesaving measures were given to the man and he was transported by the Harvard Fire Protection District to Mercyhealth Hospital in Harvard, the sheriff’s office said.

He was then flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford where he was in critical condition.

The McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team (MIAT) was requested to conduct an investigation into the incident.

The most serious charge against Little, armed violence, is a Class X felony. Investigators also found Little in possession of more than 20 cannabis sativa plants, court documents show.

A warrant was issued Wednesday after prosecutors approved the 10 felony charges against the man.

Little is not in custody in McHenry County yet and the warrant remains active, court records show.

Students choose the names ‘Axel’ and ‘Echo’ for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s 2 newest canines

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 12:18 PM PDT

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Tyler Girmscheid and Canine Echo (left) and Deputy Kevin Gayer and Canine Axel (right) | Provided Photo

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced its newest canines will be named Axel and Echo after the names were chosen by Lake County students in a contest.

The sheriff’s office said nearly 400 students in Lake County submitted names between March 4 and March 25.

The names selected for the two newest canines are Canine Axel and Canine Echo, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.

Deerfield High School Sophomore Ethan Jacobs as well as Vernon Hills Hawthorn Middle School sixth-graders Matthew Prigorenko and Carson Alper selected the name Axel.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Axel | Provided Photo

Millburn Elementary School kindergartener Charlotte Regner selected the name Echo.

All four students will be invited to participate in Echo and Axel’s swearing-in ceremony in late June following the completion of the initial training, Covelli said.

Deputy Tyler Girmscheid was partnered with Canine Echo and Deputy Kevin Gauer was partnered with Canine Axel.

The two deputies and their new canine partners are completing an intense eight-week initial training program at Tops K9 in Grayslake.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Echo | Provided Photo

The training consists of canine psychology, obedience, agility, tracking, scent detection and more.

“We always enjoy getting the youth involved in various aspects of our office and I have to say, the names they submitted were terrific! Some of the submissions had inspiring meaning behind the names and some of the submissions had us chuckling,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.

“We are looking forward to having Ethan, Matthew, Carson, and Charlotte join us at their swearing-in ceremony,” Idleburg said.

Canines Axel and Echo join their other sheriff's canine partners Dax, Duke, Danno, Ryker and Boomer to bring the total number of Lake County sheriff's canines to seven.

Driver flees scene after car hits train, dragging car for nearly a mile near Harvard

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 10:39 AM PDT

A car hit a train in the 6500 block of South Oak Grove Road in unincorporated Harvard and was dragged to the intersection of Lawrence Road and Ramer Road Wednesday evening. | Photo: Alex Vucha / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

Police say a driver fled the scene after their car hit a train, causing the car to be dragged for almost a mile near Harvard Wednesday evening.

The Harvard Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday to the 6500 block of South Oak Grove Road in unincorporated Harvard.

McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Byrnes said deputies responded to the railroad crossing for a report of a car that crashed into a train.

A witness told deputies that they saw a Chevrolet Impala crash into the side of a slow-moving eastbound Union Pacific train car, Byrnes said.

A car hit a train in the 6500 block of South Oak Grove Road in unincorporated Harvard and was dragged to the intersection of Lawrence Road and Ramer Road Wednesday evening. | Photo: Alex Vucha / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

The vehicle was then dragged by the train for approximately a mile and came to a rest near Lawrence Road and Ramer Road.

The witness reported they saw the driver exit the vehicle and walk away from the scene after talking to them, Byrnes said.

The Union Pacific Railroad was notified and the train was stopped.

Byrnes said deputies conducted an extensive search for the driver for several hours but he was never located.

The crash investigation is still ongoing by the McHenry County Sheriff's Office Patrol Division.

‘A giant step forward’: McHenry Police Department hires its first ever social services coordinator

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 08:19 AM PDT

McHenry Police Department Social Services Coordinator Jason Sterwerf | Provided Photo

The McHenry Police Department announced they have hired their first-ever social services coordinator, who will help people in crisis and victims of crime. He will eventually work alongside a comfort dog.

McHenry Police Department Chief John Birk said on Wednesday that the department hired Jason Sterwerf.

Some of Sterwerf’s responsibilities will include providing residents with social service referrals, crisis intervention and following up with victims of crime.

He will oversee the police department's peer support program, debrief with staff following critical incidents and eventually be the handler of a comfort dog.

“For years the McHenry Police Department has recognized that not all problems in our community can be resolved simply by using what were considered "traditional" law enforcement practices,” Birk said.

“The department has been proactive in working with the social service agencies within and around McHenry County to provide possible long-term solutions to community quality of life issues derived from mental health disorders and behavior health conditions,” he added.

The addition of Sterwerf, a licensed clinical professional counselor, is a “giant step forward in continuing to provide our community with the very best services possible,” the police department said.

Sterwerf received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Roosevelt University and then obtained his Master of Science in Community Counseling from National Louis University.

Prior to joining the police department, Sterwerf was the Director of the Office of Special Projects for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Court.

That office administers, coordinates and monitors the adult drug court, DUI court, mental health court and domestic violence court programs.

Sterwerf is also a staff clinician with the Tabor Therapy Group in McHenry and a faculty member of the National Drug Court Institute.

“The McHenry Police Department is excited to have Jason join its team and working to build this program. His knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality are incredible assets to what the police department and the City of McHenry can provide for its residents,” the department said in a statement.

Illinois State Police adding more license plate reading cameras to assist in expressway shooting investigations

Posted: 27 Apr 2022 06:21 PM PDT

File Photo | Photo via Chicago Police Department

Nearly five dozen automated license plate reading cameras are being installed to supplement the current 99 cameras that assist in shooting investigations on Chicago area expressways, state police announced.

The Illinois State Police (ISP), in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), announced on Wednesday that 56 additional license plate reading cameras are being installed.

99 license plate readers are already covering the Dan Ryan Expressway.

The new license plate readers are being installed on interstates 90, 290, 55 and 57, and they are estimated to be installed by mid-May, state police said.

In the first phase, license plate readers were installed on the Dan Ryan Expressway in the summer and fall of last year.

The second phase of cameras is being installed now, and state police are working on permits to meet the target goal of 300 total license plate readers in the third phase by the end of June.

State police said the images from these cameras are not used for petty offenses, such as speeding.

In February 2021, the ISP received a $12.5 million grant for the purchase of specialized cameras to read the license plate numbers of vehicles moving in traffic.

Funding for the cameras stems from the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act, also known as the Expressway Camera Act, which was signed into law on July 12, 2019, and became effective on January 1, 2020.

Clayton was on her way to work on February 4, 2019, when she was shot and killed while driving on Interstate 57 near Cicero Avenue in Chicago. ISP investigators responded and the investigation into her death remains open and ongoing.

In 2019, there were 52 expressway shootings in the Chicago area. That number jumped to 128 in 2020 and 264 in 2021.

As of last week, 51 shootings on expressways in the Chicago area have been reported this year.

26 of those shootings resulted in injuries, but no fatalities, state police said.

During the same time period last year, a total of 66 expressway shootings were reported, seven of which resulted in fatalities.

“The automated license plate reader is another tool to assist ISP patrol and investigations solve crimes and make Chicago area expressways safer for motorists,” ISP Director Brenden Kelly said.

“Since their installation, automated license plate readers have been instrumental in ISP investigations and arrests in Cook County. By expanding their use to all Chicagoland expressways, ISP will be able to catch more criminals and make our interstates safer,” Kelly added.

“My administration is bringing over 150 automated license plate readers to Chicagoland expressways ahead of the summer, another step to enhance public safety for residents of and visitors to the nation's third largest city,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said.

“As the connections between communities, our roadways should be safe for every driver. The Illinois State Police will continue to work with Chicago officials – and their counterparts in municipalities around the state – to strengthen protections and accountability measures alike,” Pritzker said.