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79-year-old motorcyclist killed in Libertyville crash
Updated: July 22, 2012 6:21AM
A 79-year-old motorcyclist was killed June 13 when his Harley Davidson was struck by a car near a railroad crossing in northwest suburban Libertyville.
At about 11:50 p.m., Libertyville police were called to the intersection of Winchester Road and Route 45 for a traffic crash involving a car and a motorcycle.
A 2005 Volkswagen Jetta, driven by an 18-year-old Mundelein man, was stopped in the northbound left-turn lane of Route 45 to turn west onto Winchester, a release from police said. The “No Left Turn” arrow was activated because of a passing train.
As the train passed, the arrow deactivated and the driver began his turn, but struck a 2001 Harley-Davidson FLHT motorcycle headed southbound on Route 45, the release said.
The impact caused the motorcycle driver, 79-year-old William H. Thedorf Sr., who was wearing a helmet, padded jacket, gloves and boots, to be ejected from the bike.
He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville suffering severe trauma and died several hours later, police said.
The driver of the Volkswagen was not injured. Police said alcohol does not appear to be a factor and no citations have been issued.
The accident forced the closure of southbound Route 45 for more than four hours.
