The crash happened Saturday near the 2400-block of Riverside Drive West. For neighbors who live along that stretch of the river, the crash has left the community searching for answers.
"It's terrible. It's horrific. It's a tragedy. It's not just the people that were on the boats," said Jane Sexton, who lives along the river. "There's so many more people on that that this has impacted. And I just I feel my heart breaks for everybody."
Jane and Bob Sexton have lived along the Fox River for years. While neither witnessed Saturday's crash, they said concerns about safety along this stretch of river are not new.
"It is very sad," Bob Sexton said. "From a homeowner and a boater perspective, we just want to make it as safe for boaters as possible."
According to the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, two boats were involved in the crash near Riverside Drive West. One person died and two others were taken to a hospital.
Fire officials said bystanders told emergency crews that two additional people from one of the boats left before first responders arrived.
Another neighbor, who asked not to appear on camera, told ABC7 he heard the crash and later saw a man and woman leaving the area.
Bob Sexton said he believes the section of river where the crash happened can be difficult for boaters to navigate.
"They go around and it's a little bit of a blind corner here," he said.
Sexton said some boaters travel through the area too quickly.
"In some cases, you know, people are out having fun and doing what they do on the weekend and they come around the corner a little bit too fast and that's a dangerous part of the river to come around that fast," he said.
Sexton said he would like officials to consider extending a no-wake zone farther downriver.
"The 'no wake' would slow the boats down. It would, you know, put them in a basically an idling mode so that that way as they come around the corner, they're not going 20, 30, 50 miles an hour around a blind corner," he said.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is leading the investigation. Officials have not yet identified the person who died.