Urbana, IL : Willowbrook man died after a rollover accident on Interstate 57 in Champaign County on Wednesday night, Oct 28, 2015

A Willowbrook man was killed when a van he was a passenger in went out of control Wednesday night on Interstate 57 in Champaign County, left the roadway and rolled several times before landing on its roof, Illinois State Police said.

Murtuza S. Rajkotwala, 43, was one of nine people in a red 2000 Toyota van that was traveling north in the right lane of I-57 about 7:20 p.m. when the driver lost control and veered right off the road, just south of Champaign, according to state police. Witnesses told police the van barrel-rolled multiple times before landing on its roof in a pond on a farm.

The vehicle was completed submerged with only the tires showing, said Tracy Lillard, state trooper and safety education officer. A man ran to help and found the interior of the van was full of water and the people inside were still in their seat belts, Lillard said. The stranger helped unbuckle the belts and pulled six of the nine occupants out of the water to safety, Lillard said.

Emergency responders and state troopers rescued the other three people. All nine were transported to area hospitals.

Rajkotwala was pronounced dead at Carle Foundation Hospital at 8:44 p.m., the Champaign County Coroner's Office reported in a news release.

One other person was listed in critical condition. The other seven people in the vehicle suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. According to police, three women, two men, a 15-year-old girl, and three boys between the ages of 6 and 12 were in the van. Seat belts were being worn. Child restraints were not present, police said.

Four of the passengers are from India, the police said.

The coroner's office is investigating the death with the state police.

The reason the driver, a Willowbrook woman, lost control has not been determined, Lillard said. As of late Thursday afternoon, investigators had not yet interviewed her, Lillard said

Source:

Willowbrook man killed in one-vehicle crash on I-57 in Champaign County