DeKalb County Crash Leaves One Dead and Four Injured

GENOA – One person was killed and four others were injured Wednesday after a three vehicle crash at the intersection of Illinois Route 23 and Melms Road.  DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Genoa Kingston Fire Department responded around noon and found an SUV on fire, a tractor-trailer hauling gravel overturned and a passenger vehicle with heavy damage. Investigators said the SUV was traveling west on Melms Road, stopped at the stop sign and then entered the intersection, where it failed to yield to the northbound semi on Route 23. The impact pushed both vehicles into the southbound passenger vehicle. The driver of that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver’s name is being withheld pending notification of family. The driver and front seat passenger in the SUV were flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford with serious injuries, while a 1 year old passenger was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb with minor injuries. The semi driver was transported to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin with moderate injuries. The 32-year-old driver of the SUV, Maria Convers Carvajal of Chicago, was cited for failure to yield at a stop intersection. The crash remains under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office.