Woman, 19, extricated from car, flown after crash near Woodstock; 2 others seriously injured

A 19-year-old Poplar Grove woman was flown to a hospital Tuesday afternoon after first responders freed her from her vehicle following a crash near Woodstock.

The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District was called to the 15200 block of Kishwaukee Valley Road near Woodstock about 4:15 p.m., public information officer Alex Vucha said.

While crews were en route, additional 911 callers reported a vehicle was smoking and the driver trapped inside, which prompted an upgraded response for entrapment, Vucha said.

Firefighters arrived within six minutes and found a three-vehicle crash with heavy damage, Vucha said. One driver was trapped, and two other people were seriously injured.

Crews worked for 30 minutes to extricate a woman who was driving one of the vehicles. She then was transferred to a medical helicopter at Northwestern Medicine Woodstock Hospital and flown in critical condition to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday afternoon that a preliminary investigation found a 2022 Chevrolet Equinox going east on Kishwaukee Valley Road was stopped while waiting to make a left turn into a driveway when a 2000 Ford van rear-ended the Chevrolet on the left rear side. The Ford then entered the westbound lane and struck a 2019 Honda CRV head-on.

The driver of the Ford was the Poplar Grove woman who was flown. A 22-year-old Poplar Grove man, who was a passenger in the Ford, was taken to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital in good condition, the sheriff’s office said.

A 37-year-old Belvidere man was driving the Honda, according to the sheriff’s office. He was taken to Northwestern Huntley Hospital in good condition, according to the sheriff’s office.

A 62-year-old woman driving the Chevrolet was not injured.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit is investigating the incident.