The coroner’s office says two brothers, ages 11 and 16, were the two victims killed when a car crashed into a tree and caught fire in Lindenhurst Friday evening.
The Lake Villa Fire Protection District and Lindenhurst Police Department responded around 11:37 p.m. Friday to the 1700 block of Grand Avenue for a single-vehicle crash with injuries.
Lindenhurst Police Chief Thomas C. Jones said a preliminary investigation shows a vehicle was traveling eastbound on Grand Avenue.
The vehicle left the roadway east of Prospect Drive and struck a tree, resulting in a fire.
Lindenhurst police officers arrived on the scene and found the vehicle to be engulfed in flames, Jones said.
Officers attempted to extinguish the fire. They also found four occupants trapped inside the vehicle.
The Lake Villa Fire Protection District arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire, Jones said.
Paramedics discovered that two of the victims had died at the scene from their injuries.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton told Lake and McHenry County Scanner Saturday afternoon that those victims were an 11-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy. They were both brothers.
Jones said two other occupants from the car were transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The Lindenhurst Police Department and Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) are investigating the incident. The roadway was shut down for several hours while MCAT worked at the scene.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has scheduled autopsies on the two children for Monday. Their identities will be released following the autopsies.
Officials are asking anyone with additional information about the crash to contact the Lindenhurst Police Department at 847-356-5400.