Passenger Dies In Crash, Driver Flees In Foot Chase: Sheriff

OSWEGO, IL — A 26-year-old Montgomery resident was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the car he was riding in crashed into a tree Wednesday night, according to the Kendall County Sheriff's Office.

A Montgomery police officer was conducting a traffic stop on Route 30, near the intersection with Briarcliff Road, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. As the officer approached the stopped gray Chevrolet Trailblazer, the car took off in an attempt to flee police, officials said.

To find the driver, the officer got back in his squad car to search the area before finding the SUV stuck in a tree on Briarcliff Road, near Bereman Road. But the driver wasn't in the car, having again fled the scene, according to the sheriff's office.

Instead, the police officer found a man with from serious injuries sitting in the passenger seat. Paramedics were called to the scene treated the man, identified as Jose A. Cardoza-Chavez, before bringing him to Rush Copley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

The sheriff's news release did not idenfity the driver or mention if he was found. Patch has reached out for comment.

The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call 630-553-5856 or contact Crime Stoppers — which can be done annonymously — at 630-553-5999.

The sheriff’s office is being assisted in the investigation by the Montgomery Police Department, Oswego Police Department, the Kendall County Criminal Intelligence Team, the Kendall County Major Crimes Task Force, the Illinois State Police, the Kane County Coroner’s Office and the Oswego Fire Department.