Minooka teen among two killed in Morris rollover crash

(MORRIS) A southwest suburban man and a 16-year-old girl died and two other people were seriously injured in a rollover crash Sunday night in Grundy County.

Rescue crews responded to the single-vehicle SUV rollover crash about 11:15 p.m. on U.S. 6 near Gun Club Road in Morris, according to Morris Fire Protection & Ambulance Chief Tracey Steffes.

A witness told police the eastbound SUV sped past her car and, while returning back into the eastbound lane from the westbound lane, veered too far and moved onto the shoulder, Grundy County Sheriff Kevin Callahan said.

The SUV then tried to drive back on the roadway, but the driver overcorrected and the vehicle rolled across the road, he said. It rolled several times over the westbound lane and came to rest in a field on the north side of U.S. 6.

Two passengers in the back seat of the SUV were thrown from the vehicle, Callahan said.

One of those passengers, James M. Harris III, 22, of Channahon, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:15 a.m. Monday, according to the Grundy County Coroner’s office.

The other passenger in the back seat, a 16-year-old girl, was initially taken to Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers, but was later airlifted to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where she died, authorities said.

She was identified as Kendall Forth, of the 1300 block of South Wabena in Minooka, according to the Peoria County Coroner’s office.

A 20-year-old man in the front passenger’s seat was trapped in the vehicle, Callahan said. He was extricated and taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The driver, an 18-year-old man, was able to free himself from the vehicle, Callahan said. He was airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he remains in serious condition.

Callahan said it was not immediately known whether alcohol played a role in the crash. No charges or citations have been issued as of Tuesday afternoon.