Three Woodstock men in their 20s died in a Sunday morning crash, a McHenry County Sheriff’s official said.

The sheriff's office, Woodstock police and the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded about 3:30 a.m. to the
3100 block of Lily Pond Road in unincorporated Woodstock.

A preliminary investigation showed that a 1994 Jeep Cherokee was traveling north on Lily Pond Road when the car went off the road north of railroad tracks to the west and struck a tree, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The 20-year-old driver and two passengers, ages 20 and 21, were pronounced dead at the scene, McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandra Rogers said.

A fourth passenger, a 20-year-old Woodstock man, was taken to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital before being transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with serious, life-threatening injuries, Rogers said.

It was foggy, the roads were slick, and a witness said the Jeep was traveling faster than the posted speed limit, which was 45 mph, Rogers said.

“You just add all of those [factors] together, and unfortunately, you have a very, very tragic accident right before the holidays,” Rogers said.

The Jeep did not have air bags, and the men were not wearing seat belts, according to the sheriff’s office. The surviving victim remained in the hospital Sunday night.

Autopsies should take place within the next 24 hours, Rogers said Sunday afternoon.

It was unknown whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Lily Pond Road reopened about
10:30 a.m. after an investigation into the incident.