2 people dead, 1 seriously injured when cars crash into each other, then hit house near Harvard

Two people died and one was seriously injured after two cars collided with each other and then both struck a nearby home, resulting in one car catching fire near Harvard and the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, officials report.

The Sheriff’s Office in Walworth County, Wisconsin, responded to a crash at 11:47 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Route 14 and State Line Road for a reported crash involving two cars colliding and then striking a house. First responders arrived to a car engulfed in flames, and the fire had spread to the house, according to a Walworth County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The fire was extinguished, and the driver and a passenger in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the second car was treated for “serious injuries” and flown to a nearby hospital, according to the release. Residents of the home were not injured.

An initial investigation found a driver was heading west on State Line Road “and failed to stop at the posted stop sign at Highway 14, striking a vehicle which was traveling north on Highway 14,” according to the release. The impact sent both cars into the nearby home.

The intersection was closed to traffic for about four hours, according to alerts by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

The crash remains under investigation by the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation Unit with assistance from the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office.

Several agencies in Illinois and Wisconsin assisted in the response.