March 23, 2010
(ELGIN) A man from South Beloit, Ill., was killed Tuesday morning when his pickup truck slammed into the back of a semi truck parked on the shoulder of the Northwest Tollway (Interstate 90) just west of Randall Road. The accident happened in the westbound lanes of I-90 about 7:38 a.m., according to District 15 State Police Master Sgt. Thomas Gartner. The pickup truck driver, identified as Michael Covert, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Kane County Coroner's office, according to state police. South Beloit is north of Rockford, just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border. "For some reason he (Covert) ran into the back of a parked semi trailer on the right shoulder," Gartner said.
The semi truck belonged to RTI Transport of Posen, Gartner said. No other injuries occurred as a result of the accident, according to police. The sergeant did not have any additional details on the crash Tuesday afternoon and said it likely would be a few more days before more information is available. "The crash reconstructionists have to do all of their number crunching and then they have to download whatever box was in the vehicle and try to gain information from that," Gartner said.
The right westbound traffic lane was closed briefly after the crash and remained backed up through the morning. The semi truck and The semi truck and emergency responders were still on the tollway at 11 a.m., Gartner said.
-- Elgin Courier-News