Harvard man killed after losing control, running pickup into tree

A northwest suburban man was killed early Friday morning after he lost control of his pickup and struck a tree in McHenry County.

Richard J. Shields, 58, was pronounced dead after the single-vehicle crash in the 2300 block of Paulson Road in unincorporated Harvard at 4:24 a.m., according to the McHenry County sheriff’s office.

Police said it appears Shields’ 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup was northbound on Paulson Road when it went off the roadway to the east, came back across, then struck a tree.

Shields, of Harvard, was dead at the scene, police said. He was not wearing a seat belt. There was no one else in the pickup.

An autopsy Friday showed he died of multiple blunt force injuries to the head, chest and abdomen, according to the McHenry County coroner’s office. Results of toxicological tests are pending.

The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff’s Traffic Crash Investigations Unit and the coroner’s office.