Jiffy Lube employee in McHenry struck, killed by Jeep leaving vehicle service bay
MCHENRY, Ill - A 29-year-old Jiffy Lube employee has died after being struck by a Jeep Liberty that was exiting a vehicle service bay Friday afternoon.
At about 12:11 p.m., McHenry police and fire responded to the Jiffy Lube located at 1807 N. Richmond Road for a vehicle versus pedestrian crash.
The driver of a beige 2004 Jeep Liberty, a 91-year-old woman, accelerated when exiting a vehicle service bay and struck the 29-year-old employee, police said.
"We came outside and then there was just police cars everywhere," said Shelby Harrison, who works nearby.
The employee was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries, police said.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office said Monday that Joseph Majko, 29, of Crystal Lake died from blunt force trauma.
"Feel bad for all the workers that saw it and I'm sure they're not working for a couple of days," said Antonio Calabrese, who works near the Jiffy Lube.
No passengers were in the Jeep and the woman did not report any injuries.
The crash is still under investigation.
"I feel terrible for the family, obviously, but I'm sure the person that did the incident feels terrible as well," said Calabrese.
Employees who work in the businesses nearby were shocked and devastated to have something like this happen so close to home.
"It's, you know, a freak accident," Calabrese said. "You can't predict anything like that to happen."
Jiffy Lube released the following statement Friday night.
"We are devastated by today’s tragic incident and the loss of our beloved teammate. We are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate this incident, as well as conducting our own investigation. In the meantime, we are reaching out to the family to provide our support, and we are making counselors available to our employees. The service center will remain closed until further notice, during which time all employees will be paid for shifts they were scheduled to work."