Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Hinsdale South Alum Dies in Crash

The Burr Ridge resident was killed late Thursday night when his pickup truck collided with a semi.

Autopsy results have been released for . McClean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling said Thomas M. Sarwark, 21, died of multiple blunt force injuries resulting from the accident.

Kimmerling said Sarwark was driving a pickup that entered I-55 from the Heyworth/McLean ramp and was traveling northbound in the southbound lane of traffic when his truck collided with a semi. According to the coroner's report, rescue personnel were called to the scene at about 11:54 p.m. Thursday night.

"Upon their arrival, rescue personnel observed a semi-tractor trailer engulfed in fire and a pick-up truck on its roof, both in the median of southbound I-55," said the coroner's office in a statement to the media.

Find out what's happening in Burr Ridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Sarwark was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m. on May 5.

Kimmerling said there was no physical evidence that he was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Forensic toxicology tests have been ordered.

Find out what's happening in Burr Ridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Sarwark was a freshman at Illinois State University, who had served in the army. The university issued a campus-wide statement when they heard of his death.

"[Sawark] was attending classes this semester and had signed up for classes for the fall semester," Jay Groves, director of media relations for ISU, told Patch Friday. "[We are reaching out to the family to see] if there is any way we can help from this perspective, collecting belongings, etc."

According to The Doings, Sarwark was a 2009 graduate.

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