Illinois man killed in head-on collision in Washington County

WASHINGTON CO. (WITI) -- Washington County officials are investigating a fatal, two-car crash that happened on US-41 just north of Western Ave. in the Town of Polk.

Around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 19th, the sheriff’s office received a cell phone report of an SUV driving erratically southbound on US-41. The SUV was being driven by a 63-year-old man from Ellsworth. Officials say the vehicle was weaving in the southbound lanes at erratic speeds and then entered the median. The vehicle then traveled in the median for a distance, veered sharply to the left and crossed into the northbound lanes. The vehicle then struck a car in northbound lanes of US-41.

An 82-year-old man from Barrington, Illinois was in the vehicle that was struck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man's 76-year-old wife was treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.

The Ellsworth man was transported to Aurora Hospital in Hartford where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries. A medical condition is being investigated as a possible contributing cause for the erratic driving.

The accident remains under investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Crash Reconstruction Team.