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An 82-year-old Lake Zurich man was pronounced dead at the scene of a three-vehicle crash at Route 12 and Volo Village Road in Volo on Monday night, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
A preliminary investigation shows that a 1995 Mazda convertible, driven by the Lake Zurich man, was traveling south on Route 12 and approaching Volo Village Road when, for an unknown reason, he crossed the median and struck a northbound 2005 Toyota Sedan driven by a 20-year-old Lake in the Hills man.
The Sedan then rotated into the path of a southbound 2008 Subaru SUV, driven by a 27-year-old McHenry man, Sgt. Chris Covelli said Tuesday. The Subaru struck the Toyota, causing the Lake in the Hills man to suffer serious injuries. He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. The McHenry man was not injured, Covelli said.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday. The crash is under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.
While the road was closed, the driver of a 2016 Ford pickup truck traveling south on Route 12, approaching Molidor Road, disregarded “eight traffic cones and numerous flares” and struck a squad car, causing the vehicle to hit an auxiliary deputy standing behind it, Covelli said.
Chris L. Miller, 65, from unincorporated Mundelein and the driver of the pickup that struck the squad car, then drove south. While fleeing, his vehicle became disabled because it was damaged, Covelli said, and Miller was arrested. Miller was charged with an aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol involving an accident with injuries, a felony; leaving the scene of an accident with injuries; a Scott’s Law violation; and numerous traffic violations.
Covelli said the deputy who was struck, a 55-year-old man from Grayslake, suffered significant leg injuries and was taken to an area hospital.
This auxiliary deputy was released after midnight and is expected to be OK.
“While I’m thankful our auxiliary deputy wasn’t killed or critically injured, I am very disappointed a drunk driver crashed into a scene we were working to keep secure, and injured one of our personnel,” Sheriff John Idleburg said in a statement. “Driving under the influence is unacceptable to begin with, crashing into an emergency vehicle while intoxicated, then fleeing, is downright inexcusable.”