Gurnee, Illinois – A truck was found submerged in the Des Plaines River, leading to a fatal outcome for the driver. The incident unfolded in the vicinity of North Route 41, unincorporated Gurnee, Lake County, Illinois, on the evening of April 4, 2024. Responding to a call at approximately 7:30 p.m., Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the scene to discover the vehicle, a 2016 Toyota Tacoma, partially underwater with the driver deceased inside.
According to Lake County sheriffs deputies that arrived on the scene, the discovery was initially made by a local homeowner who noticed unusual tire tracks in his yard, which he followed to the river’s edge, where the grim find was made. Upon further investigation, authorities learned that the vehicle had previously eluded a local police department on the night of April 3, 2024, and was also reported as a wrong-way driver in the early hours of the same day. The driver has been preliminarily identified as a 79-year-old man from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
As the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team delves deeper into the investigation, an autopsy is scheduled to be conducted by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. The team is working diligently to ascertain the crash’s exact timing and cause, while the local community mourns the tragic loss.
