Car fleeing Vernon Hills police causes serious crash in Mettawa, police say

METTAWA, Ill. (WLS) — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said a car fleeing police after a robbery in Vernon Hills caused a serious crash in Mettawa Monday afternoon.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to a crash at Route 60 and St. Marys Road around 3:45 p.m.

The sheriff’s office said a Kia Optima was driving east on Route 60, and occupied by a group who were involved in a retail theft in Vernon Hills. They were driving at a high rate of speed, deputies said.

According to police, the driver of the Kia ran a red light at Route 60 and St. Marys Road and was struck by a GMC Sierra driving south. The Kia went off the roadway and drove into a wooden fence.

After striking the Kia, the GMC also truck a Toyota 4-Runner that was waiting to turn left onto westbound Route 60.

The driver of the GMC, a 34-year-old man from Round Lake Beach, was taken to Lake Forest Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said. The driver and occupant of the Toyota were not injured.

The driver of the Kia was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The Kia’s front seat passenger was impaled by a wooden fence post when the car crashed into the fence, and was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. A third person, who had been sitting in the back seat of the Kia, was taken to Lake Forest Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office crash investigation unit. The retail theft remains under investigation by the Vernon Hills Police Department. The occupants of the Kia have not yet been identified.