Man Found Dead In Truck In Des Plaines River Near Gurnee

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 79-year-old man was found dead inside his pick-up truck after it went into the Des Plaines River near Gurnee Thursday evening.

The 2016 Toyota Tacoma was found partially submerged in the Des Plaines River near a home in the 36500 block of North Route 41 in unincorporated Gurnee, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

A man who lives at the home found the truck after arriving home and finding tire tracks in his yard, which he followed to the river, according to the news release. Police responded and found a 79-year-old man from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, dead inside the truck.

Authorities ran the license plate on the Toyota and learned it fled from a police department about 1.5 miles away at about 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Authorities also learned it was called in as a wrong way driver at about 3:40 a.m. in the area of Route 173 and Kilbourne Road.

The Lake County Coroner's Office responded to the scene and an autopsy is being scheduled.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.