Body In Burning Car: Cass Street Bridge Shut Down

JOLIET, IL — The Cass Street Bridge was shut down Sunday night as a huge cloud of smoke drifted over downtown Joliet after a car crashed, flipped and went up in flames near the former Evergreen Terrace complex.

On Monday morning, the Will County Coroner's office said the victim was an "unidentified male" pronounced dead at the scene at 11:46 p.m.

Joliet Facebook Live breaking news reporter Robert Hernandez went to the scene and produced a video, calling it, "Fire at Evergreen off Western Avenue."

Hernandez informed his followers that the Cass Street Bridge would be shut down for several hours as firefighters and police investigate the deadly fiery wreck. He said there was at least one body inside the car and that firefighters were trying to extricate the person on the Western Avenue side of the river.

The car hit a wall once it crossed the Cass Street Bridge, flipped over and burst into flames, according to Hernandez.

In a Monday morning news release, Joliet Fire Department said the car had come to rest against a steel fence and retaining wall. The driver and sole occupant of the car was partially ejected from the vehicle and pinned between the car and fence.

"That vehicle caught on fire, and no one could have survived that accident," Hernandez said.

The fire department said, "the fire was extinguished, but the had victim suffered serious burn and bodily injuries and died on scene."

Another Joliet Patch reader provided images of the fire to Joliet Patch from around 7:40 p.m.

Joliet Patch will update the article as more information becomes known.