Driver had heart attack before crash

A semi driver had a fatal heart attack before his truck crashed into other vehicles waiting at a stoplight on Randall Road in Elgin, a Kane County coroner's jury ruled Wednesday.

Randall Jay, 52, of Schiller Park, was found dead in the driver's seat of his Freightliner box truck after the Dec. 21 wreck near the Northwest Tollway.

Jay had suffered from high blood pressure, and a blood clot caused a heart attack, according to testimony at an inquest into his death.

Jurors ruled Jay's death was from natural causes. There were no signs of trauma on his body, and his truck sustained minor damage, officials testified.

Police say Jay was driving south at about 2:30 p.m. on Randall Road near the bridge over the interstate when he suffered the attack, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

His truck hit seven other vehicles waiting at the light and crashed through a chain-link fence before it stopped in the grass near Mason Road.

A woman in one of the vehicles was taken to a Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin for treatment of minor injuries. Ten others involved declined treatment, police have said.