Crime & Safety

Willowbrook Man Dies, 8 Injured in Rollover Crash in Champaign

The driver lost control, and the van rolled into a pond, police say.

A Willowbrook man died Wednesday in a rollover van crash that also left one person critically injured and seven others with non-life-threatening injuries.

All nine people in the van were brought to a hospital, according to Illinois State Police. Murtaza Rajkotwala, 43 of Willowbrook, was pronounced dead.

A red Toyota van was going north at 7:21 p.m. in the right lane of Interstate 57 near milepost 226.5 in Champaign County when the driver lost control. The van left the road on the right side, and witnesses said it rolled multiple times before it landed on its roof in a pond, police reported.

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The driver is a 45-year-old woman from Willowbrook. Other passengers included three females, ages 74, 38 and 15, and four males, ages 77, 12, 9 and 6. Seat belts were worn, but there weren’t any child restraints in the van.

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