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Oskar Hernandez Martinez Jr.

Age : 20

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/21/2024

Location : North Division Street near Garfield Street

City : Harvard

County : McHenry

State : Illinois

Agency : Harvard Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash following attempted traffic stop

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/21/2024, shortly after midnight, Oskar Hernandez Martinez Jr., 20, was killed when his black 2000 Ford Mustang crashed off North Division Street in Harvard after a Harvard police officer attempted to stop the vehicle. Hernandez Martinez was pronounced dead at the scene. The McHenry County Coroner later determined that he died from blunt-force trauma.
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The encounter began at approximately 12:02 a.m. when a Harvard police officer saw a dark-colored sedan disobey a stop sign at South Park Avenue and South Division Street, also known as U.S. Route 14. Police reported that the same vehicle then continued northbound, disregarded a traffic signal at Brink Street/Route 173 and rapidly accelerated. The officer, who had been traveling southbound, turned around and attempted to stop the vehicle.
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The officer briefly lost sight of the vehicle as it crossed the North Division Street viaduct over the railroad tracks and then completely lost visual contact near North Division Street and Diggins Street. Continuing north, the officer stopped another dark-colored sedan at North Division Street and Crowley Road but determined after speaking with its driver that it was not the vehicle the officer had originally attempted to stop.
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Two additional Harvard police officers responding as backup drove north on Division Street and struck a low-hanging braided metal utility guy wire in the 1500 block. Both police vehicles were damaged. Police subsequently determined that the wire had fallen across the roadway after Hernandez Martinez's Mustang struck and broke a utility pole.
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Police searched the area and discovered Hernandez Martinez's Mustang approximately 100 feet off the roadway in a heavily wooded area. He was the vehicle's sole occupant and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Harvard Fire Protection District.
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The McHenry County Coroner's Office identified Hernandez Martinez several days later. An autopsy determined that his cause of death was blunt-force trauma. The Major Crash Assistance Team investigated the crash, and Harvard police requested an outside review by the McHenry County Sheriff's Office under the Illinois Police and Community Relations Improvement Act.
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Hernandez Martinez was born in Harvard. His obituary described him as someone who loved football, cooking and driving his Mustang and said that family was particularly important to him. He enjoyed being a big brother and spending time with his girlfriend and was remembered by his family as generous, kind and loyal.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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The Harvard Police Department did not publicly identify the officer who attempted to stop Hernandez Martinez before the fatal crash.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.cityofharvard.org/media/23216
https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/2024/08/27/men-who-died-in-crystal-lake-car-fire-and-harvard-crash-are-idd-by-coroner/
https://patch.com/illinois/algonquin/coroner-ids-harvard-man-20-killed-crash