CORONER: No Final Cause of Death Yet in Route 31 Crash

Officials will continue to piece together details in the Batavia Township car crash on Tuesday that resulted in damage and death.

The driver in the single-vehicle crash, Max Dobner, was wearing a seatbelt at the scene, said Steve Miller, North Aurora Fire Chief on Friday. Dobner was transported to Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora. He was pronounced deceased at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday in the Center's Emergency Room, according to a press release from the Kane County Coroner's Office.

The coroner's autopsy of Dobner was conducted Thursday with few details given. The cause of death is pending the interpretation of findings from the forensic pathologist and toxicology findings, according to the press release.

The Dobner case is an ongoing investigation for the Coroner's Office. The office also works with police and fire agencies in their investigation of this crash.

Sheriff's deputies at 4:16 p.m. on Tuesday , located east of the Mooseheart Road and Route 31 intersection, according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office. The car ended up inside a home, but the

Police and fire personnel from Batavia and North Aurora responded to the crash as well.

Miller said he was able to see into the car on Tuesday before it was taken away. 

"When I looked at it, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary," he said.

Miller did not see any authorities remove anything from the car on Tuesday. Investigators did not find anything in the car that gave them a lead as to what happened, said Chris Collins, Kane County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

Officials did not find any drug or alcohol-related items in the car, Collins said. Actual toxicology results won't be available for another two to four weeks.

Dobner's death has shaken many of his family, friends and the larger community. Many wrote about him and shared their condolences online. 

"Max was (practically) the brother I never had ... he was a very generous person," wrote Emily Vargas, of North Aurora, on Wednesday on her Facebook page.

"I have heard he was a really good kid," Miller said. 

For more on Dobner's life, click .

Mooseheart Road

The part of Mooseheart Road involved in this incident is two lanes, one eastbound and one westbound. The road runs from Randall Road on the west side to Route 31 on its east side.

Dobner was headed eastbound on Mooseheart Road to Route 31. Before the intersection there is a sign with flashing lights that warns of a stop ahead. At the actual intersection there are two stop signs, one at the northwest corner and another at the southwest corner, Miller said.

Miller said the intersection has been the site of multiple crashes over the years.

"There isn’t a tree in that yard that is not scarred," Miller said.

Miller said there are plans to widen Mooseheart Road at some point next year. The expansion would include a designated right-turn lane on Mooseheart Road to head southbound on Route 31, he said.

Other Details From the Scene

Witnesses near the scene say Dobner drove straight through the Mooseheart Road and Route 31 intersection. His 1999 Chrysler Cirrus was about eight feet off the ground when it hit a tree branch. After it hit the tree, the car traveled about 15 feet before colliding with the house, Miller said.

The length of the house runs north-south along Route 31 and the front of the house faces west to Route 31.

The car was lodged inside a room in the northwest corner of the house. The engine flew about 20 feet east though three rooms and a bathroom before landing against the back wall of the house.

There was steam coming from the engine, but the North Aurora Fire Department did not suppress an actual fire in that room, Miller said on Friday.

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