Victim ID'd after vehicle crashes, catches fire before falling into river in Prospect Heights
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) – One person is dead after a fiery crash in Prospect Heights Saturday morning.
Prospect Heights Police Department and Fire District responded to a single-vehicle crash in the area of Milwaukee Avenue and River Road around 5:49 a.m.
Preliminary investigation says that the vehicle was traveling Eastbound on River Road towards Milwaukee Avenue when it struck a guardrail and a concrete retaining wall. The vehicle caught on fire as a result of the crash and went airborne over the concrete retaining wall, police said.
The vehicle came to a rest in the Des Plaines River where the driver was ejected from the vehicle.
The driver, identified as 32-year-old Aaron Willard by Medical Examiner's Office, was pronounced dead by responding police and fire personnel as a result of injuries from the crash.
Milwaukee Avenue between 540 N. Milwaukee Avenue and River Road will be closed. In addition, River Road between East Old Willow Road and Milwaukee Avenue will also be closed.
The crash remains under investigation.