ROCKFORD, IL : Fiery crash kills 1, injures 2 others on Saturday, 22nd December 2018

A 45-year-old man was killed early Saturday morning after he was thrown from a vehicle when it crashed into another car and caught fire.

The crash happened shortly after 2 a.m. at the intersection of Kishwaukee Street and Brooke Road. Authorities said one vehicle was driving south on Kishwaukee at a high rate of speed when it went through the red light and struck another car, which was traveling west on Brooke. The speeding vehicle caught fire after the crash, police said.

The 45-year-old driver was ejected from the vehicle that ran the red light, and he later was pronounced dead at the crash site, police spokeswoman Christie Castillo said. A 50-year-old woman escaped on her own from this car while a 46-year-old man was pulled from the burning car by officers, Castillo said.

Both survivors were taken to an undisclosed hospital. The woman suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and the 46-year-old man was listed in critical condition, police said.

EC Ciochetti, owner of EC Auto Sales, 2930 Kishwaukee St., said he lives next to his business and was awakened by the muffled sounds of the crash. After the two vehicles collided, he said one went careening down the street, struck a power pole and caught on fire where it came to a rest near Fitch Road.

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