Driver killed when stolen SUV crashes near Wilmington
By BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@stmedianetwork.com October 26, 2012 9:59AM
Updated: November 29, 2012 6:30AM
WESLEY TOWNSHIP — A 33-year-old man was killed Thursday night when he crashed an SUV police say was stolen earlier that night in Elwood.
Around 10:35 p.m. Alexander Simmons was driving a 1997 Chevrolet Suburban eastbound on Illinois 102 when he passed Elevator Road.
Will County Coroner Patrick K. O’Neil said an eyewitness in another vehicle told investigators the Suburban swerved to avoid a deer that ran across the road, drove into a tree and overturned into a ditch. State police said Simmons was not wearing a seatbelt during the crash.
O’Neil said an autopsy performed Friday showed Simmons died from multiple injuries he sustained in the crash. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
As the crash was being reported, a couple in the 200 block of West Spencer Street was reporting the vehicle stolen.
Elwood Police Chief Fred Hayes said a 46-year-old man came home around 7:30 p.m. and parked his Suburban outside, unlocked, with the keys in the ignition. Around 10:30 p.m. his wife woke him up and noticed the truck was missing,” Hayes said.
The couple did not know Simmons, who had also had no previous contact with Elwood police, Hayes said. Formerly of St. Anne, Simmons had lived in Elwood for two years, O’Neil said.
