On Sunday morning, July 5th, a man lost his life in a solo car crash in Waterman, Illinois. The car accident reports disclosed that Richard R. Hemold, 77, was the only occupant of his vehicle when he crashed.
According to the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived at the crash scene around 3 p.m. after receiving a call about a single fatal crash on Route 23 north of Duffy Road. A preliminary investigation uncovered that Hemold was behind the wheel of a silver Chevy pickup that went off the road and slid into a ditch.
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The investigators said that the car kept moving in the ditch for about 1000 feet before it struck another embankment. The crash caused severe damage to the truck, causing airbags to deploy. Also, the ravine was 10 feet below the driver’s door, leaving Hemold submerged in water and unresponsive.
First responders performed CPR on the man before taking him to Kishwaukee Hospital, where medical personnel pronounced him dead. The investigation to determine what caused the victim to go off the road is ongoing, and there’s currently no additional information.
Motor vehicle accidents either leave a person with minor, severe, or significant injuries. Car occupants can mitigate the occurrence of any of the three with seatbelt use and airbag deployment. The latter is a large nylon bag that inflates and deflates very rapidly in the event of a severe crash. It reduces injury by cushioning a person’s contact with the interior of the vehicle or preventing it completely.
Disclaimer: The Safety Watch article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.