Plainfield Farmer Arrested for Illegal Waste Disposal Killed in I-80 Crash

A Plainfield man that had been arrested on charges of criminal disposal of waste, air pollution and water pollution in May was killed in a two-vehicle crash Friday, July 10.

Herman J. Fritz, 78, died shortly before 4 p.m. when the pickup truck he was driving crashed into the back of a semi tractor-trailer, according to Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Fred Rivera.

The semi was parked at the bottom of the ramp from Brisbin Road to I-80 westbound.

“He was partially in the lane and partially on the shoulder,” Rivera said. “It had a blown-out tire and (the driver) laid out some traffic triangles and waited for service.”

Rivera said he’s unsure if Fritz came down the ramp too or if he was on I-80.

“He struck the rear of the truck and was killed on scene,” Rivera said.

Fritz had turned himself in to the Plainfield Police in May after a 10-count criminal complaint was filed against him. He was out on bond when he got into the traffic crash.

The complaint alleged that during November and December, Fritz dumped “more than 250 cubic feet of waste,” including “dirt, landscape waste, scrap metal, cardboard, bricks, asphalt, concrete” and other debris on his Fritz Road farm.

In November of 2014, prosecutors secured a civil injunction forbidding Fritz from dumping on his property.