Coroners IDs Husband, Wife Killed In Boat Crash: Authorities

By Sam Borcia, Lake & McHenry County Scanner

The coroner has identified the second victim after a couple, who were just weeks away from their 33rd anniversary, died in a high-speed boat crash along the Fox River near McHenry.

McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein said an autopsy performed Tuesday showed Julie Mertins, 61, of McHenry, died as a result of blunt force injuries in a boat crash.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said on Monday that an autopsy showed Timothy Mertins, 62, of McHenry, also died as a result of blunt force injuries in a boat crash.

The McHenry Township Fire Protection District, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois Conservation Police responded around 5:40 p.m. Saturday to the 600 block of Country Club Drive in unincorporated McHenry.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director of Communications Jayette Bolinski said witnesses reported an open motorboat was traveling “very fast” up and down the Fox River.

The boat was south of the Snuggery River Roadhouse in McHenry and was weaving and cutting back and forth across the water, Bolinski said.

The boat, operated by Timothy Mertins, hit the shoreline and left the river at a high rate of speed.

Bolinski said it traveled approximately 73 feet from the shoreline before coming to rest on land.

The hull of the boat was separated into two pieces following the impact, Bolinski added.

The boat also struck a house after it ran aground. The home was not seriously damaged.

Nearby resident Conner Lively told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he heard an unusually loud bang and ran out to check it out.

Lively, along with his father and other bystanders on a pontoon boat, rushed to the scene to help the victims.

The bystanders found a man, later identified as Timothy Mertins, and a woman, later identified as Julie Mertins, trapped in the wreckage.

The bystanders worked together to push the wreckage off the male victim but the female victim was “entirely under the boat,” Lively said.

Bolinski said Julie Mertins was pronounced dead at the scene.

Timothy Mertins was rushed by ambulance to McHenry High School East Campus where a LifeNet medical helicopter landed.

The helicopter flew the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he died from his injuries around 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Bolinski said, adding that the victims were husband and wife.

Banek said Timothy Mertins died in the operating room in the hospital.

A witness, who did not wish to be named, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner she was eating with her family nearby on the patio of the Snuggery River Roadhouse.

The woman said she saw the boat traveling north on the Fox River while “going fast.”

The boat went towards the rocks along River Road near the Snuggery and did a “huge circle around, back toward the rocks” and made a right-hand turn still going “really fast,” the witness said.

The boat did not slow down before it went airborne and crashed, the woman said.

An obituary for the couple said Julie was “selfless and would set her own needs aside if it meant that she could spend time with someone else.”

“She never forgot the important milestones for the innumerable people she counted among her friends and family,” the obituary said.

The obituary said Timothy was “meticulous about his house, cars, and boat” and “loved to be outside in any capacity.”

“Tim and Julie were each one of six children and were extremely family-oriented as a result. They did everything together from yard work to grocery shopping. Tim and Julie loved to entertain and never needed a reason why. They enjoyed being regulars at different local establishments and had a particular appreciation for any and all live music. If Tim was the Captain, Julie was First Mate, and they loved getting out on the water every chance they had,” their family said in the obituary.

The couple would have celebrated 33 years of marriage on October 20.

A memorial visitation is scheduled for Sunday in Crystal Lake.

The Illinois Conservation Police are still investigating what led to the crash.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.