Man dies following crash in unincorporated McHenry County

A Lake Villa man was killed Wednesday morning after crashing his pickup near northwest suburban McHenry.

Firefighters responded at 10:19 a.m. to a single-vehicle crash in the 5400 block of Flanders Road in unincorporated McHenry, according to the McHenry County sheriff’s office.

A Dodge Ram traveling east on Flanders had crashed into a tree after driving on and off the roadway in both directions for “unknown reasons,” police said.

Witnesses reported seeing 61-year-old Gerald Goodwin experiencing “seizure-like activity” as he was slumped over the wheel, according to the McHenry County coroner’s office. While witnesses were trying to help, the Dodge began rolling and then accelerated into the tree.

Goodwin was taken to Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry, where he was pronounced dead at 11:17 a.m., authorities said. He was wearing his seatbelt, but no airbags deployed during the crash.

No one else was in the pickup, the sheriff’s office said.

An autopsy Thursday found he died of blunt force injuries to his head and chest, the coroner’s office said. An investigation into his death was ongoing, including a review of his medical history, toxicology testing and crash reconstruction.