Elderly Woman Dies After Crash That Submerged Car In Water

NORTH BARRINGTON, IL - An 86-year-old Lake Barrington woman died after she was a passenger in a head-on crash in the area on Christmas Eve. Lake County Sheriff's police say the woman was a passenger in a Toyota Corolla around 5:58 p.m. on Dec. 24 on Route 59 south of Route 22 when the driver of the car she was in lost control, struck another Toyota headed in the opposite direction and ended up in a ditch submerged with water.

The woman died at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge on Monday after being taken there in critical condition, according to the Daily Herald. Her identity was not released as of early Tuesday pending the notification of the next of kin.

Lake County officials say a preliminary investigation shows that a 63-year-old woman from Arlington Heights was driving the Corolla northbound near the intersection when she lost control and struck a southbound Toyota Highlander that was driven by a 55-year-old man from Round Lake Beach.

The Corolla then drove off the west side of the roadway into a wetland area, according to police. Both cars were found with extensive damage after law enforcement responded to the crash.

Personnel from the Lake Zurich Rural Fire Protection District rescued both occupants of the Corolla from the water. The driver was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington in serious condition. The passenger was in critical condition when she was transported to Lutheran General, where she was pronounced dead the next day.

Both the driver and a passenger in the Highlander were taken to Good Shepherd after suffering non-life threatening injuries.

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

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