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MUNDELEIN, Ill. - A 66-year-old man was killed after he was unable to escape a burning SUV after it struck a tree Saturday afternoon in the northern suburbs.
Sheriff's deputies responded to an accident with injuries around 4:45 p.m. in the 29000 block of Gilmer Road in Fremont Township, according to a statement from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
When sheriff's deputies arrived, they discovered a 2019 Ford Expedition fully engulfed in flames, the statement said.
The driver, a 66-year-old Mundelein man, was traveling south on Gilmer Road when he swerved to the right, then back to the left causing the SUV to leave the roadway and strike a tree. A 36-year-old Grayslake man who was riding in the backseat was ejected from the vehicle.
After striking the tree, the SUV caught on fire, and the driver was unable to escape the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene and later identified as Kevin Dolan.
The ejected passenger sustained major injuries, including burns, and was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville by ambulance before being flown to the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. He remains in critical condition.
Two other passengers, a 37-year-old man from Chicago and a 36-year-old man from Chicago, were able to escape the burning vehicle and were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries.
It was not immediately clear what caused the driver to swerve off the roadway. The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.