A 60-year-old business owner was identified as the victim killed following a rollover crash in Libertyville Sunday morning, authorities and friends said.
An autopsy showed Joseph Peshut, 60, of Libertyville, died in a vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Libertyville Fire Department and Libertyville Police Department responded around 10:52 a.m. Sunday to the 300 block of Peterson Road for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Officers arrived and located two vehicles with extensive damage on Route 137 between Cass Avenue and Bell Lane, according to Libertyville Police Department Lt. Matt Goze.
The Libertyville Fire Department and Mundelein Fire Department had to extricate both drivers, including Peshut, from their vehicles due to the heavy damage.
Peshut was pronounced dead at the scene and the other driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Paramedics transported the other driver to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment.
No one else was injured in the collision. Police have not released any details on how the crash occurred.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team was called to the scene to assist the Libertyville Police Department with the investigation.
Peshut owned a national facilities service provider based in Libertyville called Atlas Commercial Maintenance.
The owner of Austin’s Saloon and Eatery, Mark Khayat, said in a social media post that Peshut was one of his longtime friends.
Khayat said that the crash occurred in front of his restaurant and he put his staff to work on serving the first responders with coffee and food while the investigation was being conducted.
Khayat added that it was after the roadway had been reopened that he learned the man killed in the crash was Peshut.
“Joe, a 6’ 3” burly looking man with a very contagious smile. Once you got past his loud voice and his large size, you noticed a man that was bigger than life and never had a bad day. A very talented Carpenter, Designer, innovator,” Khayat said.
“Then the horrific news came out and sadly the person who was involved in this horrific accident was my good buddy, Joe. From what I understand, the other person will be OK and it was just an accident,” Khayat added.