3 dead, 1 injured in Kankakee crash

KANKAKEE, Ill. (WLS) -- Three men were killed and another man injured in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 57 in Kankakee, about 60 miles south of Chicago.

The victims were identified as Lukas Frye, 25, of Milford; Randy Gates, 56, of Kankakee; and Eddie Sarkozi, 43, of Iroquois, according to Kankakee County Coroner Bob Gessner.

Frye, who was the driver, was the only one not wearing a seatbelt.

The lone survivor was hospitalized Monday evening at Presence St. Mary's Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries. He was listed in serious condition, but expected to be OK.

At about 5 a.m. Monday, the victims were in a Nissan Altima traveling southbound at a high speed when they struck a light pole. The car careened down an embankment and landed in a ditch in a mangled heap, about 75 feet from the road, near Illinois Route 45/52.

One man was thrown from the car. Two other men were found inside the vehicle, police said. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

The lone survivor crawled out of the mangled Nissan on his own and was found by a Kankakee County sheriff's deputy who drove by when he spotted the wreckage.

Gessner called it "one horrible accident." He says there was alcohol in the vehicle and toxicology tests on the victims are pending.

"Lukas is not one to drink and drive," said Katlynne Long, a cousin of one of the victims. "He would never drink and drive. I don't think he would be that person who would do that. Maybe the other passengers in the car could have been possibly having a drink, or something, but I don't see Lukas being the person to do that."