The coroner’s office said a 72-year-old man likely died of natural causes which resulted in him driving off the roadway and crashing into a tree near Antioch on Wednesday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Antioch Fire Protection District responded around 10:45 a.m. to the area of Route 83 north of Eagles Nest Road in Antioch Township for a vehicle crash.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and found a red 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe in a yard of a residence in the 40600 block of North Route 83.
The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 72-year-old Antioch man, was unresponsive, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.
Sheriff’s deputies removed the driver from the vehicle and began lifesaving measures.
Antioch Fire Protection District paramedics arrived and continued to attempt lifesaving measures, Covelli said.
The driver was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he was pronounced dead.
A preliminary investigation showed the Chevrolet was traveling southbound on Route 83.
The vehicle left the roadway eastbound and struck a tree in the front yard of a residence, Covelli said.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said Thursday that the man’s identity is still being withheld because his next of kin has not been notified yet.
An autopsy completed Thursday indicates that the man likely died from natural causes, which possibly caused the crash, Newton said.
Toxicology studies are still pending.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Technical Crash Investigations Team.