Wisconsin man dies after driving into Des Plaines River near Gurnee

A 79-year-old Wisconsin man is dead after authorities said he drove a pickup into the Des Plaines River near Gurnee.

An autopsy performed by the Lake County coroner’s office Friday determined Antoine Pierre, of Pleasant Prairie, died of blunt force injuries sustained in the crash.

Pierre was found by a resident who lives adjacent to the river at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday on the 36500 block of North Route 41 after noticing tire tracks through his yard.

The vehicle was located in the river partially submerged. Pierre was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said the pickup was the same vehicle called in as a wrong-way driver early Wednesday morning in the area of Route 173 and Kilbourne Road.

Investigators from the Lake County sheriff’s office are still trying to determine when the crash happened, but said the vehicle was also the same pickup that had fled from Gurnee police who attempted to make a traffic stop late Wednesday.

Gurnee police did not attempt to pursue the truck, authorities said. The crash scene was less than two miles away from where officers attempted to make the traffic stop.

The crash remains under investigation, officials said.