The coroner has identified a 22-year-old man and member of the U.S. Military who died after he was impaled by a fence post during a crash in Waukegan Monday evening.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 6:31 p.m. Monday to the 1100 block of South Lewis Avenue in Waukegan for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Officers and firefighters arrived to find a single-vehicle crash with serious injuries.
Paramedics found the driver, who was the sole occupant of the car, was unresponsive.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the victim as Hayden Jones, 22, who is from Oklahoma and was currently stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes.
A preliminary investigation shows that Jones was driving his car southbound on Lewis Avenue when the vehicle left the roadway for unknown reasons.
Banek said Jones’ vehicle crashed through a fence and into trees. A fence pole penetrated the vehicle’s windshield, impaling Jones in the head.
Jones, who suffered severe injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene, Banek said.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said the man appeared to be an active-duty member of the U.S. Military.
He was initially tentatively identified by the coroner’s office, which then had to use fingerprint analysis to confirm his identity.
An autopsy was performed on Jones on Tuesday morning and the results showed he died as a result of blunt force injuries to the head as a result of the crash.
The Waukegan Police Department Major Crash Unit responded to the scene to conduct a crash investigation.
The Waukegan Police Department has not released any information on the crash as of Wednesday afternoon.