2 people killed in crashes near Woodstock and McHenry identified

An Oregon man has died from injuries he suffered in a crash Thursday morning near McHenry, the Lake County Coroner’s Office announced in a news release Monday.

The crash occurred in the 1500 block of South River Road while icy road conditions were reported around McHenry County.

Nathan Russell, 39, of Jacksonville, Oregon, died from blunt force injuries suffered in the crash, the coroner’s office said in the release. Jacksonville is about 45 minutes away from the California border.

Russell has family connections to the Island Lake area, according to the release.

The coroner’s office said they were notified Sunday that Russell was pronounced dead in the intensive care unit at the Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where Russell was flown from the scene of the crash. He was driving a Ford van was ejected in the crash.

The preliminary investigation indicates the Ford van was going north on River Road was trying to pass a car in a no-passing zone when the driver lost control and hit a Honda SUV traveling south, according to the release.

The other driver involved had to be extricated, authorities said last week, and was also seriously injured. No update has been offered on that driver’s condition.

The crash still is being investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit, according to the release.

Also Monday, authorities identified the driver who was killed in a separate crash that occurred around the same time Thursday morning.

James Settle, 88, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, died following the crash near the intersection of Charles and Queen Anne roads near Woodstock, McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein announced in a news release.

Settle was extricated from his vehicle after it crashed into another car; he was conscious upon transport to Northwestern McHenry Hospital but went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead in the emergency room, the coroner’s office said.