Aug. 26--Three people died after their car crashed into a tree and burst into flames in north suburban Ingleside early Wednesday, authorities said.
The Kia Optima was on Rollins Road when it left the road near Lake Shore Drive about 2 a.m., according to Detective Christopher Covelli with the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The car hit a tree and became "engulfed in flames," Covelli said. Fire crews responded and found three people dead in the car, he said.
"It's your standard two-lane road," Covelli said at the scene. "It's an unlit roadway surrounded by woods and homes. There is a curve in the roadway here."
Covelli said the license plates on the Kia do not belong to the car, making it more difficult to identify the victims.
Deputy Chief Coroner Orlando Portillo said autopsies of the victims began at 10 a.m., and because the bodies were burned beyond recognition, they will have to use dental records and DNA to make positive identifications.
Tammy Phillips, who lives on Tami Lane near the intersection of Rollins and West Lake Shore Drive, said the stretch of road on which the crash occurred is "horrible." Several accidents have happened there, she said, including one involving her husband's uncle and family many years ago.
She said the combination of a curve in Rollins and deer in the area makes driving hazardous. It is more dangerous in winter, she said.
"They should straighten that curve," she said.
Phillips did not hear the crash, but walked to the site this morning.
She said flowers are often placed along the road in honor of accident victims.
Dave Sterbenz, 60, who lives near the crash site, was awakened from sleep by the helicopter noise early Wednesday morning.
"I heard one guy stopped and attempted to get them out but the flames were too intense," he said.
"You couldn't even tell it was a car," he added when a flatbed tow truck removed the car from the scene.
The car hit a tree in the Grant Woods Forest Preserve on the north side of Rollins Road at the curve. Sterbenz said that row of oak trees "has taken out a lot of individuals over the years."
Lisa Black of the Chicago Tribune contributed
Frank Abderholden of the News-Sun contributed
