The coroner has released the identity of a 33-year-old man, described as someone who “loved his family fiercely,” after he died when his car became engulfed in flames following a crash in North Chicago.
An autopsy performed on Thomas Byrne, 33, of North Chicago, preliminarily showed he died as a result of blunt force injuries from a vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The North Chicago Police Department and North Chicago Fire Department responded around 12:05 p.m. on September 21 to the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
911 callers reported one of the vehicles was fully engulfed in flames and a person was possibly still inside the car.
Officers and firefighters arrived to find a two-vehicle crash with one car on fire, according to North Chicago Fire Chief John Umek.
Umek said the car was fully engulfed in flames. The second car, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, was heavily damaged.
The sedan that caught fire came to rest on large bushes and the Jeep came to rest against a fire hydrant.
Both vehicles were only occupied by their drivers. Byrne, who was inside the car that caught fire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Jeep was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Umek said.
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was shut down in both directions from Green Bay Road to Hillcrest Avenue for several hours.
The Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County (MCAT) responded to conduct a crash reconstruction and investigation.
The North Chicago Police Department has not released information on what led to the crash.
North Chicago Assistant Police Chief Gary Lunn said on Monday that the police department has been in communication with MCAT regarding the investigation.
The coroner’s office released Byrne’s identity on Monday. Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said it took an extended time to positively identify the man due to the fire.
Newton said the coroner’s office worked closely with the suspected family of the victim in order to obtain dental records and have them compared by a forensic odontologist, leading to the positive identification.
Toxicology testing, including carbon monoxide testing, is still pending to confirm his cause of death.
An obituary for Byrne said he left the world in a “tragic” crash. His mother said he was the “ultimate nerd” and had obtained a degree in chemistry and biology from Rollins College in Florida.
“He loved concerts singing at the top of his lungs and diving into books or conversations that stretched the imagination and often broke the sound barriers. He was an athlete at heart, a swimmer, a water polo captain and a brief but enthusiastic member of crew at Rollins. He was passionate about lifting,” his mother said.
His obituary said he loved his family fiercely and shared a lifelong bond with his brother, who was his best friend.
“He was a son, nephew, cousin and friend who left an indelible mark on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His humor, his intelligence, his quirks and his kind soul will never [be] carried forward in the hearts of those who loved him most,” his mother said.
A visitation and mass are scheduled for Friday at St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Church in Chicago.