Elgin crash kills one, closes Big Timber

Elgin police closed a stretch of Big Timber Road, just west of McLean Boulevard, while they investigated a car crash that killed a 72-year-old man.

Elgin Police Lt. Glenn Theriault said the crash occurred at about 3:02 p.m. today.

Robert Knackstedt, of Elgin, was killed in the crash. Authorities reopened the stretch of Big Timber by 6 p.m.

Witnesses told police that an Oldsmobile Cutlass, headed east on Big Timber and driven by Knackstedt, veered across the centerline and collided head-on with a black Chevy Suburban, which was in the inside lanes and headed west on Big Timber, Theriault said.

The SUV spun around and struck a Mercury Grand Marquis, Theriault said. The SUV driver, a 38-year-old from Lakewood, and the driver of the third vehicle, a 72- year-old Carpentersville woman, suffered minor injuries and were treated and released.

Theriault said it did not appear that alcohol was a factor in the crash.