Nov. 28--Two women and a man died after a car crash and fire Friday afternoon near McHenry in McHenry County, authorities said.
The three 18-year-olds died after the crash about 2:10 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Lily Lake Road in unincorporated Nuda Township outside McHenry, authorities said.
The car, a 1994 Chevrolet Camaro, reportedly was headed south when it left the road, collided with several trees, went down a ravine and landed on the driver's side, according to authorities.
Authorities identified the dead as Kelly Cronin of Island Lake, James Seward of McHenry and Promise Williamsen of Holiday Hills. Williamsen was a student at McHenry County College, according to a statement posted Saturdady on the community college's website.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of MCC student, Promise Williamsen, who passed away from being in a car accident on Friday," the statement read. "She will be missed by all. We are keeping her loved ones in our thoughts, as well as the loved ones of the two others who also lost their lives from that accident."
Seward, who was driving, and Cronin were pronounced dead on the scene, the McHenry County Sheriff's Office said. Williamsen, the vehicle's owner who was seated in the front passenger seat, was taken to Centegra Hospital-McHenry, where she was pronounced dead, the sheriff's office said.
A man who tried to help extract passengers from the burning car described a "horrific" scene on Lily Lake Road. A section of Lily Lake stretching north from River Road was shut down by emergency crews until about 8 p.m. because of the crash.
"I pulled up about three or four minutes after it happened," said Rick Schwans, who owns a nearby horse farm. "I couldn't tell what happened. It was a horrific accident. I was trying to help get the bodies out."
He saw three young people in the small blue car, which appeared to have hit a tree and was overturned in a ditch off Lily Lake, south of Wegner Road. He did not see any other vehicles that appeared to be involved in the collision.
"It almost looked like they hit the tree, and the tree fell on them," Schwans said.
A woman who arrived before him had already called paramedics, who arrived shortly afterward, he said.
"She is the one who really saved the day by calling the paramedics and telling them what was going on," Schwans said.
Schwans had left his home on an errand to the drugstore when he saw smoke billowing from a ditch. Other people were also at the scene.
"I tried to move the seats to get them freed up," said Schwans, who described feeling helpless without tools or a fire extinguisher.
"It was bad. ... Hopefully, someone made it." The sheriff's office said the cause of the crash is unknown and its investigation continues.
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