Person who videotaped serious crash near Huntley had just exited car before it struck tree, injuring 3 teens

The person who captured video of a crash near Huntley last week that seriously injured three teens had just exited the car before it left the road and crashed into a tree, authorities said Wednesday.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office said the reason the passenger had been filming the car when it crashed still is under investigation. Police said that, to their knowledge, that video was not livestreamed.

Authorities had said in a Monday news release that at least one witness to the crash had captured it on video. They said witnesses were being interviewed, and the footage was being analyzed. Officials also confirmed that the crash did not occur during a planned meetup with a larger group.

The sheriff’s office also confirmed Wednesday that none of the people involved in the crash are related. Under the Illinois graduated driver’s license law, drivers younger than 18 who have had their license less than 12 months are limited to one passenger younger than 20 unless the passenger is a child, stepchild, sibling or stepsibling of the driver.

The driver was a 16-year-old residing in Huntley, and the passengers were two 14-year-olds residing in Lake in the Hills, police said.

Police said one of the younger boys, the rear seat passenger, was flown to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago with head and torso injuries, while the other was flown to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood with a broken femur.

The older teen was driven after the crash to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital by his parents with what were described as serious injuries, including a possible concussion.

The sheriff’s office said in the release that speed was believed to be a factor in the crash, and it was not clear if anyone was wearing a seat belt or if airbags were deployed.