Crystal Lake South Grad Dies Following Hit-and-Run Crash

Photo caption: A memorial for Ben Allison was set up at the scene of a hit-and-run accident in Normal. Photo credit: Ben Allison’s Legacy Facebook page

Ben Allison, 20, of Crystal Lake died Tuesday morning after he was critically injured over the weekend in a hit-and-run accident in Normal, where he attended Illinois State University.

Allison died at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to information posted on the Ben Allison’s Legacy Facebook page.

“As you can all see from the posts on this page, Ben was an incredible man. He touched so many lives by being the generous, loving, genuine man we all knew,” according to an update posted Tuesday morning on the Facebook page. “He will certainly be missed.”

Allison, a communications major at Illinois State University, was found unresponsive at about 8:45 a.m. Saturday near College Avenue and Fell Street in Normal, the newspaper reports.

He was rushed to an area hospital to undergo emergency brain surgery and was held in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition, according to a post on the Ben Allison’s Legacy Facebook page, which was set up for friends and family to ”celebrate Ben’s life.”

Police have made an arrest in connection with the hit-and-run accident. Police took into custody Joshua Dunn, 21, an ISU student, who has been charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an injury accident, according to the Daily Pantagraph.

Prosecutors said Dunn admitted to being at a party where he consumed alcohol the night before the crash occurred, according to the article.

Allison is a 2012 graduate of Crystal Lake South and was a goalie on the Crystal Lake South hockey team, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

“Ben was one of those kids who would walk into a room and everyone would like him immediately,” Rich Perillo, varsity hockey coach for Crystal Lake South, told ABC 7 Chicago “He had a smile on his face, he was always happy, always willing to help everybody.”

Allison’s family planned to donate Ben’s organs “ to help save as many lives as possible,” according to a Ben Allison’s Legacy Facebook post.

Funeral services have not yet been set.

Those wishing to donate to Allison’s family can do so on this GoFundMe page.