Driver dies after fiery wreck on Arlington Heights-Rolling Meadows border

A driver died overnight after a car crashed into a light pole and caught fire, Arlington Heights police said Friday.

Authorities said the driver of a 2011 Dodge Caliber sedan was traveling east on Golf Road approaching Algonquin Road when the car left the road and struck a traffic signal standard on the southeast corner of the intersection.

An initial 911 call reported the vehicle being fully involved in flames, which were extinguished by Rolling Meadows firefighters. They removed the driver, who was the single occupant of the car and who was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The vehicle was left totaled, with charred remains from the fire and substantial front and passenger side damage due to the crash impact.

Arlington Heights police crash reconstructionists and members of the Major Case Assistance Team Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team spent several hours at the scene early Friday morning, while Rolling Meadows police assisted with traffic direction around the wreckage.

The investigation remained ongoing Friday, police said.