MCHENRY, Ill. () — As authorities work to pinpoint the cause of a fatal boating crash on the Fox River, residents who live near the scene say they are hoping the tragedy prompts new safety measures aimed at reducing the risk of future accidents.
The crash occurred Saturday near the 2400-block of Riverside Drive West. For people who call that stretch of the river home, the incident has shaken the neighborhood and left many looking for answers.
“It’s terrible. It’s horrific. It’s a tragedy. It’s not just the people that were on the boats,” said Jane Sexton, who lives along the river. “There’s so many more people on that that this has impacted. And I just I feel my heart breaks for everybody.”
Jane and Bob Sexton have lived on the Fox River for years. They did not see Saturday’s collision happen, but said worries about boating safety in the area have been discussed long before this crash.
“It is very sad,” Bob Sexton said. “From a homeowner and a boater perspective, we just want to make it as safe for boaters as possible.”
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District said two boats were involved in the crash near Riverside Drive West. One person was killed, and two others were transported to a hospital.
Fire officials said witnesses reported that two additional people from one of the boats left the scene before emergency crews arrived.
Another nearby resident, who did not want to be shown on camera, told ABC7 he heard the crash and later saw a man and a woman walking away from the area.
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Bob Sexton said he believes the section of river where the crash happened can be difficult for boaters to navigate.
“They go around and it’s a little bit of a blind corner here,” he said.
Sexton said some boaters travel through the area too quickly.
“In some cases, you know, people are out having fun and doing what they do on the weekend and they come around the corner a little bit too fast and that’s a dangerous part of the river to come around that fast,” he said.
Sexton said he would like officials to consider extending a no-wake zone farther downriver.
“The ‘no wake’ would slow the boats down. It would, you know, put them in a basically an idling mode so that that way as they come around the corner, they’re not going 20, 30, 50 miles an hour around a blind corner,” he said.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is leading the investigation. Officials have not yet identified the person who died.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
