Teen killed in Wauconda e-bike crash with SUV

A 14-year-old boy was killed in an e-bike crash with a sports-utility vehicle in north suburban Wauconda, police said.

Wauconda police said just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the 500 block of North Main Street for a crash involving an e-bike and a Honda Pilot with serious injuries.

Police said they found a 14-year-old boy, who had been riding the e-bike, with critical injuries in the roadway when they arrived. He was taken to a local hospital where he died.

Police said the 44-year-old woman driving the Pilot and her passenger, also a woman, were both uninjured. The driver is cooperating and no charges have been filed, police said.

The boy was identified as Tyler Waldal of Wauconda by the Lake County Coroner's Office.

"Tyler's a great kid, and, you know, this can happen to great kids, too," said Heather Cognac, Wauconda police commander.

Cognac spoke on behalf of Tyler's family.

"He was a great student, he loved his friends, he loved sports," she said. This is … obviously going to  affect his family and siblings tremendously."

A roadside memorial grew throughout the day on Wednesday outside Wauconda High School where the crash happened.

"I'm surprised I'm walking now that I talk about what's happened," said Dan Thacker.

Thacker is badly injured and bruised after he was hit by an SUV while riding his e-scooter on Tuesday outside the Chicago VA. He says the driver did it on purpose in what he believes was a road rage incident.

"He turned the wheel hard. Punched the gas and ran me over and dragged me on my scooter to about here," he said.

The Iraq War Army vet says a witness was able to snap a grainy photo of the car before driving away

"I'm upset, somebody ran me over with their car," Thacker said. "Slow down and share the road," he said.

Illinois lawmakers recently approved legislation aimed at regulating e-bikes, e-motos and other electric devices, including age requirements and additional guardrails for faster models. The bills still need the governor's signature to become law. 

Wauconda Police Chief John Combs says he believes uniform statewide rules and better education for parents about the speed and power of today's e-bikes and e-motorcycles could help prevent future tragedies.

"We're looking for something that is consistent across the state so that there's no confusion," he said. "He didn't need to pass away over driving one of these e-bikes."

Again, the driver is cooperating with police and has not been cited for the crash.

Combs says Tyler had a helmet, but it appears that it wasn't properly strapped.