Johnsburg woman killed in Monday crash identified: ‘If you went out in Fox Lake, you knew Bobbie’

Roberta "Bobbie" Wisch, left, is pictured with friend Tarin Noga and her dog, Tatertot, in the summer of 2022. Wisch and Noga bonded over their love of dogs, according to Noga.

Roberta Wisch, 40, of Johnsburg, was identified as the woman killed in a crash early Monday northwest of Fox Lake, the McHenry County coroner said.

As the news of Wisch’s death spread through the community, friends took to social media to share their memories of her.

One of those friends was Tarin Noga of Fox Lake. She and her husband, Jay Caile, met Wisch over 10 years ago when Bobbie, as she was known to her friends, worked at Blueberry Hill in Fox Lake

“If you went out in Fox Lake, you knew Bobbie. She is ‘the bartender,’” Noga wrote in a Facebook message to the Northwest Herald.

“She had a light about her that could light up a room no matter what her day was like, good or bad. She did not bring down,” Noga said.

As “dog moms,” the two of them clicked, Noga said.

Around Halloween, one of Wisch’s dogs, Winnie, got out. Wisch started a search party, and the dog was found a few days later, having been hit by a car, Noga said.

Wisch hosted an event on Sunday to thank everyone who helped find the dog, who is reportedly on the mend, Noga said.

A preliminary investigation into the crash indicated that at about 12:19 a.m. Monday, Wisch’s 2003 Toyota Corolla was southbound on Fox Lake Road when, for unknown reasons, it exited the roadway to the west and struck a mailbox and then a tree, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Wisch was alone in the car and was not wearing her seat belt. She died at the scene, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said.

McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said an autopsy took place Tuesday.

The investigation is ongoing by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.