The coroner has identified a 73-year-old man and said he died of natural causes before crashing into a semi-truck on Route 120 in Grayslake Friday morning.
An autopsy showed that James Bechtel, 73, of Grayslake, died of natural causes prior to being involved in a crash, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton.
The Grayslake Fire Protection District and Grayslake-Hainesville Police Department responded around 5:25 a.m. Friday to the area of the Starbucks, 775 East Belvidere Road in Grayslake, for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Grayslake Deputy Police Chief Jeff Myhra said a blue Chevrolet Trailblazer and an International semi-truck were involved in a crash.
An investigation showed the Chevrolet was traveling eastbound on Route 120.
Bechtel experienced a medical emergency that caused him to drive into oncoming traffic, Myhra said.
The semi-truck, which was traveling westbound on Route 120, collided with the Chevrolet.
Grayslake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Jim Weidman told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that the incident was a head-on-style crash that resulted in minor damage.
The crash happened just west of Ivanhoe Road on Route 120 in front of Sammie’s restaurant.
Paramedics pronounced Bechtel deceased at the scene, Weidman and Myhra said.
There was one passenger in the car and they were uninjured. The driver of the semi-truck was also uninjured.
Officers shut down both directions of Route 120 between Ivanhoe Road and Route 83.
The Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County was called to the scene to investigate the crash.
The roadway was reopened shortly before 11 a.m. Friday.