Crash on Gilmer Rd Kills Driver, Seriously Injures 3 Others in Unincorporated Mundelein

Lake County Sheriff’s Traffic Crash Investigators are investigating a fatal crash that occurred Saturday afternoon, October 7, 2023 near a curve on Gilmer Road between Erhart Road and Fremont Center Road in unincorporated Mundelein, Fremont Township near Wauconda.

Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies and firefighters and paramedics from Wauconda Fire District were dispatched to a report of a traffic crash with injuries in the block of 29000 Gilmer Road in Fremont Township. Wauconda Fire District firefighters and paramedics arrived first and located a 2019 Ford Expedition with major damage, fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters requested Lake County Sheriff’s deputies expedite to the scene because of heavy traffic at the scene, where a curve affected visibility for southbound drivers approaching the crash scene.

The driver was unable to escape the vehicle and sustained major injuries. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. An ejected passenger sustained major injuries, including burn injuries. He was initially transported via ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, but then flown via medical helicopter to the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he remains in critical condition. Two other passengers, a 37-year-old man of Chicago and 36-year-old man of Chicago, were able to escape the burning vehicle and were transported to area hospitals with serious injuries.

Firefighters and paramedics from Grayslake and Round Lake responded for mutual aid assignments at the crash scene.

Preliminary investigation shows the Ford Expedition, driven by a 66-year-old man of Mundelein was traveling southbound on Gilmer Road. For an unknown reason, the driver swerved to the right, then swerved to the left, which caused the vehicle to leave the roadway and strike a tree. The vehicle then started on fire. A backseat passenger, a 36-year-old man of Grayslake, was ejected from the vehicle. Firefighters upon arrival at the scene reported that the vehicle that was on fire struck a utility pole. A news videographer on the scene was unable to verify whether the large SUV hit a tree, the utility pole or both, as Lake County Sheriff’s deputies kept a large perimeter a significant distance from the crash scene. Two ComEd trucks were on the scene, but no power outage was reported on the ComEd outage map about one or two hours after the crash.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office is scheduling an autopsy on the driver.

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

There is a curve and a dip in the road on Gilmer Road near the crash scene, and the Speed Limit is posted 50 MPH. The driver may have been maneuvering for curve while driving southbound on Gilmer Road when the crash occurred. Road conditions were dry at the time of the crash, which occurred during daylight, and was also located near the Ray Lake Forest Preserve in Lake County.

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