E. Dundee Police: Algonquin man had heart issues just before fatal crash

A 40-year-old Algonquin man died in a car crash Saturday in East Dundee, likely the result of heart failure, according to police.

Police say that at 11:10 a.m., Thomas C. Nejmeh, of the 1600 block of Hartley Drive, was northbound on Route 25 just north of Route 72 when his black Lincoln Zephyr veered out of his lane, traveled up and over the curb and went through the Dundee Township East Cemetery. The car kept moving in a northeast direction until it crashed into the south wall of an unoccupied building in the 200 block of South Dundee Avenue, police said.

The officer who witnessed the crash didn't see any skid or slide marks at the scene nor the rear brake lights illuminate.

Police found Nejmeh unconscious on the passenger side of the car with head injuries. The East Dundee Fire Protection District took Nejmeh to Sherman Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:04 p.m. The car sustained extensive damage to its front end.

Police said the air bag had not been deployed and that Nejmeh wasn't wearing a seat belt.

An exam at the hospital showed Nejmeh had heart failure just before the crash, according to a news release.