A heartwarming visit to meet his newborn daughter ended in heartbreak when a young Illinois father was tragically killed on his way home.
On the afternoon of July 18, 2025, Lake County deputies were called to a serious accident at the intersection of Route 176 and Bradley Road in Green Oaks. At around 2:35 p.m., they arrived to find a motorcycle had collided with a semi-truck. The motorcyclist, later identified as 35-year-old Dennis Lewis from Round Lake Beach, had died at the scene.
According to investigators, Lewis had been riding his 2013 Harley-Davidson westbound through a green light when a 2008 Peterbilt semi-truck driven by a 50-year-old man from McHenry made a left turn into his path. The semi-truck driver was unharmed and is cooperating fully with authorities. An autopsy was scheduled, and the Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating the crash.
Just hours before the fatal accident, Lewis had visited Highland Park Hospital to see his three-day-old daughter, Harley. His girlfriend, Amberly Trocke, said he couldn’t stay away and went to visit their baby before the planned family pickup later that afternoon. During the visit, he messaged her that Harley stirred when she heard his voice—just as she had when she was still in the womb.
Lewis made his last phone call at 1:39 p.m. to let Amberly know he was grabbing something to eat before heading home. But he never arrived.
At their home, Amberly waited with their other daughter, nearly-four-year-old Davina. As time passed with no sign of Lewis, a friend drove her and the girls to the hospital. She called multiple medical centers along the way, hoping he’d simply been delayed or taken in with minor injuries. But deep down, she feared the worst.
“He was someone you didn’t have to worry about,” Trocke said. “So I knew something wasn’t right.”
News of a crash reached Lewis’ mother first, but no one initially believed it could be him. That changed when police confirmed they would be coming to the house to speak with Amberly. That’s when the devastating news was made official.
“I just started screaming and crying,” she remembered. “Davina was covering her ears saying they hurt, but I couldn’t stop crying.”
Dennis Lewis had been overjoyed about becoming a father again. His cousin, Stephanie Cornell, recalled how happy he was at the couple’s baby shower just a few weeks earlier. He proudly showed off the freshly renovated nursery and talked about his plans for the future.
“He was glowing. I’ve never seen him that happy,” Cornell said.
A transmission mechanic by trade, Lewis had also been preparing to propose to Trocke after Harley’s birth—something she didn’t know until after he died. “It hurts so much that we never got to finish our story,” she said.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post days after the tragedy, Amberly wrote: “My heart is shattered. This is true heartbreak. Six days ago, my world flipped. My girls’ dad was taken from us tragically.”
She spoke about the pain of waking up in a house they had made a home and the unimaginable task of explaining to Davina that her dad wasn’t coming back. “Harley will never know firsthand what an incredible father she had—only through the stories we tell her,” she wrote. Davina, meanwhile, whispered one night, “Dennis isn’t here to protect me from the monsters.”
Friends and family have launched a GoFundMe to help support Amberly and her daughters through this incredibly difficult time. The funds will assist with daily needs, baby supplies, and future expenses as Harley grows up without her dad.
The fundraiser describes Dennis Lewis as a devoted, kind, and hardworking man who had just stepped into his role as a father with nothing but love and hope for the future.
Though he never got to bring Harley home, his family and community continue to honor the memory of a man whose life was taken far too soon.