Lake County, Illinois was the scene of a tragedy when a 79-year-old man from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, was discovered deceased in a pickup truck that had gone into the Des Plaines River. The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported the incident involving a 2016 Toyota Tacoma found partially submerged near a residence off North Route 41 in unincorporated Gurnee. According to WGN-TV, the homeowner, upon arriving home Thursday evening, noticed tire tracks leading to the river where the vehicle was located.
Lake County's deputies had been dispatched to the scene around 7:30 p.m. to truly investigate the incident. A sequence of events saw the truck first involved in a police evasion reportedly around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, confirmed by license plate information obtained by sheriff’s deputies. The man's vehicle was previously spotted and noted as a wrong-way driver early Wednesday around the vicinity of Route 173 and Kilbourne Road, as per details from a FOX 32 Chicago news report.
The Lake County Coroner's Office was notified and dispatched to the location for further examination and an autopsy to determine the exact causes that led up to the man's death. The deceased's identification remained undisclosed pending family notification. Amongst gathering evidence and piecing together the last moments of the 79-year-old man, the Technical Crash Investigations Team of the Lake County Sheriff's Office continues to determine not just the cause, but also the exact timing of the crash, according to details from Patch.
As the investigation unfolds, authorities hope to uncover more about why the elderly man chose to drive into the river, and what measures could prevent similar incidents. Funeral arrangements and family statements are to be expected once all next of kin have been properly informed.
