Man Trapped In Burning Car After Crash Into Building: Police

PALATINE, IL — A driver stuck inside a burning vehicle after crashing into a vacant building in Palatine has been transported to a suburban hospital with burn injuries. The extent of his injuries were not immediately known. Authorities say the crash occurred when the driver, a 48-year-old man, was heading south through a retail parking lot in the 600 block of East Dundee Road just before noon, according to a news release from the Palatine Police Department.

The 2015 Kia Soul drove into the brick wall of a vacant business, which is located next to the Petco in Deer Grove Centre, according to the news release.

The vehicle caught on fire with the driver trapped inside. Palatine Police Department officers arrived at the scene and attempted to remove the driver from the burning vehicle but were unable to reach the driver because the burning vehicle was embedded into the building, authorities said.

A Palatine officer got a tow strap from a witness at the scene and pulled the burning vehicle clear from the building. The driver was then transported by Palatine Fire Department paramedics to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge for treatment of his burn injuries, according to the news release.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.