Longtime School Employee ID'd As Woman Killed In Crash

LAKE COUNTY, IL – The 62-year-old Mount Prospect woman killed Sunday morning after she was thrown from the motorcycle she was riding on in North Barrington has been identified as Deborah Platz, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office. Platz worked for River Trails School District 26 in Mount Prospect for 29 years and had been set to retire this past Tuesday, according to the Lake County News-Sun. She was most recently a secretary at Indian Grove School, district Superintendent Nancy Wagner told the newspaper.

Wagner said she was a beautiful person who would be missed.

“She was just a beam of light when you walked into that office,” Wagner told the Elgin Courier-News.

Platz was riding with her husband on the 2008 Harley-Davidson at the time of the single-vehicle collision. on Miller Road just east of Oak Hills Road just before noon on Sunday, according to media and police reports. Her husband was driving at the time and Platz was a passenger.

The collision occurred when the motorcycle lost control and hit a curb, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Both the driver and passenger were ejected from the motorcycle, authorities said. They were both wearing helmets.

Both were taken to Condell Medical Center. Platz had critical injuries and was later pronounced dead. Her husband was treated and released from the hospital.

A preliminary investigation by the coroner's office revealed Platz died of multiple traumatic injuries as a result of a motorcycle crash, Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said in a news release. Toxicology results are pending.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.

A visitation for Platz has been set for 3 to 9 p.m. on Saturday at Colonial-Wopjciechowski Funeral Home, 8025 W. Golf Road in Niles, according to Platz's obituary. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at the funeral home at 7:30 p.m. Cremation will be private.