Elgin man dies after crash in Elburn

A commercial airline pilot from Elgin died Saturday from injuries he suffered when the car he was driving was broadsided by another car Thursday in Elburn, police said.

At around 10:40 a.m. Thursday, 53-year-old George W. Giltzow was driving his 2002 Mazda west on Route 38 at Anderson Road when he crossed the center line and was hit on the passenger side by a 1998 Buick traveling east, police said.

Giltzow was taken to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, where he died two days later.

The driver of the Buick, 68-year-old Sanora Douglas of Sycamore, and Douglas' passenger, 35-year-old Michelle Giannili of Maple Park, were treated for minor injuries at Delnor-Community.

Elburn police believe Giltzow crossed the center line to avoid hitting a truck turning left in front of him onto northbound Anderson Road. The truck failed to yield to oncoming traffic, police said.

Road conditions were good and the weather was clear at the time of the crash, according to police.

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1978, Giltzow was a pilot in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant, according to his wife, Theresa.

Later, Giltzow was a commercial pilot for Northwest Airlines. Giltzow's profession took him and his wife all over the country.

The two met when their friends set them up on a blind date while Giltzow was home from the Naval Academy on Christmas break.

"It was love at first sight," Theresa said.

Giltzow was born in Elmhurst and graduated from East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, where he played nose guard on the school's championship football team, his wife said.

Theresa Giltzow described her husband as a patriotic, devoted father and uncle who loved the outdoors and riding motorcycles.

"He loved his country. He loved his family," Theresa said. "If anybody needed anything, he was there."

Giltzow is survived by his wife of 30 years; his daughter, Rose; his son, Robert; and his sister, Barbara MacFarlane.

Funeral services for Giltzow have been scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Countryside Funeral Home, 950 S. Bartlett Road, Bartlett. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery in Elgin.

Memorials can be made to U.S. veterans' charities.

Elburn police have classified the accident as a fatal hit and run and are continuing their investigation. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Elburn police at (630) 365-5070.