Oakwood Hills woman dies in crash with fuel tanker

An 84-year-old woman from Oakwood Hills died Saturday after a crash with a fuel tanker near Wauconda, Lake County authorities said.

The crash occurred around 7:20 a.m. on Route 12 south of Route 120.

The woman, who was driving a Chevy Cruze, was exiting the parking lot of an auto body shop on the 31200 block of Route 12. She drove west across two lanes of Route 12, then made a U-turn to head back east across Route 12 before crashing into the fuel tanker just south of Route 120, Lake County sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.

It appeared the 84-year-old woman was confused or lost, Covelli said.

Authorities are not releasing the names of the drivers.

The tanker, which was heading north on Route 12, was carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel. The driver of the tanker, a 39-year-old man from McHenry, was not injured in the crash, Covelli said.

The woman was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where she was pronounced dead.

Route 12 remained closed until about 1 p.m. Saturday so crews could safely tow the fuel tanker, Covelli said.

The truck driver and other bystanders performed CPR on the woman before emergency crews arrived, said Wauconda Fire Protection District Batallion Chief John Spratt.