PALATINE, Ill. (CBS) — A driver is dead after striking a utility pole in Palatine early Wednesday morning.
At 2 a.m., Palatine police were called to the 1400 block of West Northwest Highway, and found a Chevrolet work van had gone off-road and hit a utility pole on the north side of Northwest Highway at Countryside Drive.
The driver – Christian Serpe, 34, of Bloomingdale – had to be extricated by Palatine firefighters. He suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where he underwent surgery, but was later pronounced dead, police said.
There were no passengers in the vehicle, and police have no video of the crash.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office will investigate Serpe’s death.