Two separate crashes at Genoa intersection send 7 to hospital

GENOA – A Huntley teenager was among seven hospitalized during two separate car crashes at the same intersection of Melms Road and Route 23 in northern Genoa less than 24 hours apart, authorities said Friday.

The first crash occurred about 5 p.m. Thursday, according a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office news release. A silver Kia sedan was traveling west on Melms Road while a red Jeep sports utility vehicle traveled south on Route 23. The vehicles collided at the intersection, injuring all occupants.

DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Burgh said both vehicles had “heavy front-end damage.”

The Huntley teenager – who was driving the Kia and was cited for failure to yield at a stop intersection – was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb. A 71-year-old Hampshire resident was taken to OSF St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford, according to the release.

Burgh said no one was unconscious or trapped inside their vehicles. Those hospitalized did not suffer injuries that were life-threatening.

Burgh said both Route 23 and Melms Road have 55 mph speed limits, although only one has a stop sign at the intersection.

“So [crashes are] normally high-speed impacts because of the type of the intersection it is,” Burgh said.

Authorities returned to the same intersection hours later for another crash with multiple injuries.

The second crash occurred about 9:40 a.m. Friday at the same location, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

A 33-year-old Schaumburg resident was driving west on Melms Road in a Nissan Sentra carrying two minors and another passenger. The Schaumburg driver allegedly failed to yield at the intersection, colliding with a Kia sedan driven by a 25-year-old from Marengo, authorities said.

All injuries were not life-threatening, Burgh said.

The Kia’s driver, the only occupant, was taken by Genoa-Kingston paramedics to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford. The occupants of the Nissan Sentra were taken by paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb.

“Both vehicles were towed from the scene with pretty severe damage, and it was a T-bone at the way they hit,” Burgh said of the second crash. “They closed Route 23 just for probably around a half-hour until they could get at least one lane back up.”