Sleeping Woman Pinned Under Truck After Crash Into Home: Cops

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 71-year-old woman became pinned underneath a pick-up truck early Sunday after a hit-and-run driver crashed his vehicle through the walls of her home as she slept inside, police said. The collision occurred in the 28900 block of South Avenue in unincorporated Spring Grove at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday. A preliminary investigation shows Talon Franz, 28, was headed north on Route 12 at a high rate of speed when his pickup truck first ran into a northbound 2018 Volkswagen SUV and then hit a utility pole on the west side of Route 12, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Franz then drove through a fence and into the home, police said. His pick-up truck traveled several feet into the home, trapping the elderly woman who was sleeping underneath it. He then allegedly left his truck behind and fled the scene.

Emergency personnel extricated the 71-year-old woman from underneath the truck, and she was taken to Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry with injuries that are not considered life-threatening. Meanwhile, her dog and two cats are missing, police said.

Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies found Franz at his home in the 0 to 100 block of Oak Hill Colony Street in Fox Lake and took him into custody.

Franz has been charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury traffic crash, reckless driving, failure to report a traffic crash, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. His bail has been set at $75,000.

The man and woman in the Volkswagen, which was also was allegedly struck by Franz's pick-up truck, were also taken to the hospital. The 69-year-old driver, a Johnsburg man, and a 67-year-old passenger in the vehicle, a Johnsburg woman, sustained injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

Franz is next expected in court on May 22.