obvious comms
33rd anniversary
Fox River, McHenry County, Illinois.
The horror crash came just yards from the couple's $660,000 waterfront property
PUBLISHED: 09:33
Country Club Drive
Timothy and Julie were family oriented and were both one of six siblings
Julie worked as a Property Manager at Avison Young in Chicago since 2016
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12592845/Married-couple-weeks-celebrating-33rd-wedding-anniversary-killed-speed-boat-smashes-house.html
Married couple, 62 and 61, are killed in horror speedboat crash after losing control, racing 73 FEET up riverbank and smashing into a house that split the vessel in half and trapped them underneath
Timothy and Julie Mertins, 62 and 61, were killed in a crash on Fox River, Illinois
The pair were trapped under the boat when it mounted the bank and hit a house
The horror crash came just yards from the couple's $660,000 waterfront home
By JAMES CALLERY and EMMA RICHTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:33 EDT, 4 October 2023 | UPDATED: 11:51 EDT, 4 October 2023
This is the horrifying moment a husband and wife are killed as their speedboat races across a river and smashes into a house.
Shocking footage shows Timothy and Julie Mertins, 62 and 61, lose control before mounting the bank on Fox River, McHenry County, Illinois.
The boat speeds up to the land before splitting in half as it wrecks on the property on Country Club Drive on Saturday.
The pair were left trapped under the vessel, with Julie dying on the scene and Timothy passing away on the operating table due to blunt force trauma.
The horror crash came just yards from the couple's $660,000 waterfront property, which lies just across the river.
Witnesses ran to help the trapped couple as Conner Lively told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he heard an unusually loud bang before ran out to check it out.
When Lively, his father and other bystanders arrived at the boat they saw the husband and wife both stuck under the wreckage.
They managed to get Timothy out, but struggled to get Julie to safety as Lively said she was 'entirely under the boat'.
One witness claimed the couple appeared to be making a tight circle at high speeds when they lost control of the boat.
The vessel made a 'huge circle around, back toward the rocks' and took a right-hand turn while still going 'really fast,' the witness said.
She also added that the boat did not slow down before it went airborne and crashed on shore.
The incident caused the hull of the boat to be separated into two pieces and also resulted in minor damage to the house they hit.
Timothy and Julie were family oriented and were both one of six siblings. They had two children together, Troy and Allison. They would have celebrated 33rd wedding anniversary on October 20.
According to the couple's obituary, Julie was known as a devoted wife, mother, daughter and sister who 'was selfless and would set her own needs aside if it meant that she could spend time with someone else.
She worked as a Property Manager at Avison Young in Chicago since 2016.
Timothy was a loving husband, father, son and brother who was 'meticulous about his house, cars, and boat.'
They are remembered as a selfless pair who died doing what they loved. 'They did everything together from yard work to grocery shopping,' their obituary read.
'If Tim was the Captain, Julie was First Mate, and they loved getting out on the water every chance they had.'