Authorities: 3 dead in northeast Illinois car accident

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - Authorities in northeast Illinois say three people are dead after an early morning vehicle crash.

Winnebago County Sheriff's spokesman Ken DeCoster tells The Rockford Register Star (http://bit.ly/1M1nmeo ) the crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. DeCoster says there were four people in the vehicle when it crashed. He says the vehicle left the road, hit a guard rail and bridge abutment and caught fire.

The driver and front seat passenger were trapped in the wreckage. It's unclear if they died from trauma injuries or the fire. A male passenger was ejected from the vehicle and later died at a hospital.

A fourth man was able to crawl out of the vehicle. DeCoster says he suffered injuries that weren't believed to be life-threatening.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com