The crash happened just before 1 a.m. Saturday on Plank Road in unincorporated Plato Township.
Authorities said a driver in a Ford Fusion was trying to pass another car while in a no-passing zone when he was hit head-on by a Subaru, according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office.
That driver, identifed by the sheriff's office as 22-year-old Harvy S. Barrios of Elgin, died. His passenger, a 21-year-old woman from Glendale Heights, was injured but is going to be okay.
The driver in the other vehicle, a 31-year-old man from Sycamore, suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Joes Hospital.
The roadway was shut down for several hours while police investigated the crash and was reopened as of 6:15 a.m., officials said.