UPDATED: McHenry man killed in motorcycle crash identified

Speed is believed to be a factor in a crash Sunday in which a McHenry man was killed, according to a news release Wednesday from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

He was identified by the McHenry County Coroner’s Office as Jeffrey Westphal, 27.

A GoFundMe as been created to help cover the cost of Westphal’s funeral, with any excess going to his 3-year-old son, according to the website, which said he was known as JJ.

Rescue crews were called at 3:03 p.m. to the intersection of Johnsburg and Miller roads outside McHenry for a collision involving a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle.

According to a preliminary investigation, a 2009 Kawasaki motorcycle was heading south on Johnsburg Road when it crashed into the side of a 2021 Honda Civic that was coming off Miller Road and turning north onto Johnsburg Road. Both vehicles came to rest in the intersection, according to the release.

The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet and was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the Honda Civic, a 17-year-old, was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital with minor injuries, and a 45-year-old passenger in the car was not injured, according to the release.

Both of the Civic’s occupants were wearing seat belts, and the car’s airbags deployed in the crash.

The McHenry Township Fire Protection District and Spring Grove Fire Protection District responded to the scene of the crash, as did the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Johnsburg Police Department and McHenry County Conservation District police.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate the incident.