An 18-year-old Gilberts man was critically injured Saturday night after the car he was driving struck a tree on Powers Road at Interstate 90, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office said.
Matthew Miedema, of the 200 block of Tyler Creek Street, was driving a 2012 Hyundai Sonata at a high rate of speed on southbound Powers Road about 10 p.m. and lost control as he tried to negotiate a tight curve just north of the I-90 bridge, a sheriff’s office news release said. As he attempted to regain control of the vehicle, the car went off the east side shoulder and easement and plowed into a tree, the release said.
Miedema had to be extricated from the vehicle, and was initially taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin before being airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge because of significant chest and liver injuries, the release said.
A front-seat passenger, Andrew Sthal, 24, of the 100 block of Woodland Park Circle, Gilberts, was uninjured and refused medical treatment at the scene.
Investigators said airbags were deployed during the crash, which caused heavy front-end damage to the car, but it was not known if seatbelts were in use, the release said.
The initial crash investigation indicates that speed was a factor, but it does not appear alcohol was involved, the release said.
