11-year-old boy among those killed in 3 crashes within 12 hours in McHenry County, Illinois
The McHenry County, Illinois, Sheriff's office spoke out about road safety Wednesday night after a string of deadly crashes.
Three people were killed — among them an 11-year-old boy — while another was seriously hurt. The three separate crashes happened within a span of just 12 hours.
On Wednesday night, players on the McHenry Cobras 12U baseball team held onto any piece they could of their friend, 11-year-old Alan Kroll. Tributes to Alan, jersey No. 5, were everywhere as the team took to the field Wednesday night — on faces, helmets, and by way of orange ribbons.
"He was the life of the team," said Mike Keubel, president of the travel baseball team. "They all loved him."
Keubel organized a ceremony before the game that brought teams across the area to the field in McHenry. The team and coaches took a moment before the game to put flowers in center field, where Alan played.
"I've had lots of players since they were 5 years old, just like this coach — he had Alan since he was 5, so for six years, he coached him," Keubel said. "I can't imagine it being one of my players."
Around 6:40 p.m. Monday, McHenry County Sheriff's deputies and several local fire departments responded to a crash at the intersection of Kishwaukee Valley Road and Deerpass Road in unincorporated Marengo.
Sheriff's officials said a 2016 Ford Transit Van was headed north on Deerpass Road, when the driver ran a stop sign at Kishwaukee Valley Road, and hit a 2012 Audi Q5 SUV.
A 29-year-old man from Wonder Lake who was driving the Audi was seriously injured, and an 11-year-old child in the Audi, identified by friends as Alan, was killed.
Sheriff's officials said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday, a 2011 Dodge Ram was headed east on Kishwaukee Valley Road near Hughes Road in unincorporated Woodstock, when it crossed into oncoming traffic, and hit a westbound 2023 Mack semi-trailer truck.
The driver of the Dodge, 50-year-old Donald Markham, of Belvidere, was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not injured.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday, a 1997 GMC Sierra was headed east on Hebron Road east of U.S. Route 13 in unincorporated Harvard, Illinois, when the SUV left the road and hit a utility pole, then flipped onto its roof, according to the sheriff's office.
The driver, 35-year-old Omar Estrada-Escobar, of Harvard, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the McHenry County Coroner's office.
"These aren't rare to us," said McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman. "It's just really unique that we got three of them, you know, within a 12-hour period."
The McHenry County Sheriff's office said it is now conducting traffic studies, increasing visibility in certain areas, and working with its Major Traffic Cras Investigation Unit to figure out why the three crashes happened.
"When things like this happen, these are real people," Tadelman said. "They affect a lot of people when these things happen."
Alan's death has impacted an entire community full of kids, players, and families.
"I witnessed my 14-year-old son with, you know, tears in his eyes," said a father, James McEvoy. "I'll be thinking about his siblings."
McEvoy said for the baseball players, the game is a way to cope — as they remember Alan as the player at the center of the field and the team.
"What I see in this — people showing up, these kids having the guts to come out and play a game, and they all just want to go home," McEvoy said.
