A 34-year-old man died after losing control of his Tesla and slamming into a tree in Morgan Park, where the electric vehicle caught fire with him trapped inside. The crash happened in the 11300 block of South Western Avenue over Halloween weekend, leaving the man dead at the scene.
According to ABC7 Chicago, police say the driver was behind the wheel of a black Tesla when he lost control and crashed into the tree. He was reportedly the only person in the car at the time.
Driver Trapped as Vehicle Ignited
Police told the outlet that the man became trapped inside the vehicle after the crash, and the electric vehicle caught fire immediately, according to the Chicago Police Department. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The station's report does not include the driver's name or other biographical details, and no information has been released about the Tesla's speed or direction of travel before the crash. Police have attributed the loss of control as the cause, but no additional contributing factors have been confirmed.
Morgan Park Has Seen Other Fatal Crashes
The Halloween weekend crash is not the only deadly traffic incident to hit Morgan Park in recent memory, though the available evidence does not establish any broader pattern tying the cases together. Last November, a hit-and-run van driver fatally struck a 45-year-old man near 117th Street and Marshfield Avenue, according to chi.streetsblog.org. Police said the van was heading southbound near Marshfield Plaza Mall around 4:45 p.m. when it struck the pedestrian and fled south; the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Cook County medical examiner's office had not released his identity at the time of that report.
In July 2022, a head-on collision in the neighborhood killed two people, the Chicago Tribune reported. That crash happened around 1 a.m. in the 10700 block of South Vincennes Avenue, when a GMC Yukon collided head-on with a Lexus. The Yukon's 38-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene, as was 38-year-old Sabrina L. McCauley, a passenger in the Lexus, according to the Chicago Tribune.
No further details have been released about Sunday's crash, including the driver's identity or what specifically caused him to lose control.
