Motorcyclist Killed In Crash On Route 41 In Unincorporated Lake Bluff

SHIELDS TOWNSHIP, IL — A motorcyclist was killed Tuesday after he crashed into the back of an SUV in unincorporated Lake Bluff, authorities said.

Brandon Lipe, 31, of Great Lakes, was riding a Suzuki motorcycle north on Route 41 shortly before 1 p.m., according to the Lake County sheriff's and coroner's offices.

Witnesses reported the motorcyclist was speeding in the moments before the crash as he approached Washington Avenue, a sheriff's office spokesperson said.

Other traffic slowed down, but the Great Lakes man was unable to brake fast enough, according to the results of a preliminary investigation by the sheriff's office's technical crash investigations team.

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The Suzuki first struck a Chevrolet SUV, sending the motorcyclist flying forward onto the road, where he slid under a semitrailer immediately in front of the Chevy.

The wheels of the semitrailer then ran over the motorcyclist, who was dead by the time deputies arrived, according to the sheriff's office.

The 40-year-old Lake Bluff woman whose SUV was rear-ended by the motorcyclist, and the 59-year-old Mundelein man who was behind the wheel of the Peterbilt Semi truck pulling the trailer, were both uninjured.

The results of an autopsy conducted Wednesday indicate that Ripe died from blunt force injuries as a result of the crash, according to a spokesperson for the Lake County Coroner's Office.