The vehicle that crashed into the East Street viaduct last night had fled from police twice prior to crashing. The Kewanee Police Department received a request to check the welfare of a male subject driving a vehicle on September 30, 2025, around 8:45 PM. Officers located the vehicle in the 800 block of North East Street and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled from police eastbound out of town on Kentville Road at a high rate of speed. According to the press release from the Kewanee Police, the officer terminated the pursuit after approximately 42 seconds near Cole Street and Railroad Avenue. A witness at the scene reported seeing a vehicle driving on Cole Street at a high rate of speed.
Officers located the vehicle back in town around 9:44 PM and attempted a second traffic stop. The driver fled from police a second time. Officers pursued the vehicle for approximately two minutes and thirty seconds before terminating the pursuit. The vehicle crashed into the East Street viaduct approximately three minutes later, catching fire. As we reported overnight, the vehicle came to rest in the trees along the railroad tracks. Hodge’s Towing lifted the vehicle out of the trees. and placed the vehicle on the ground so that the Kewanee Police and the Henry County Coroner could process it.
The Henry County Coroner’s Office declared the driver deceased at the scene. The crash remains under investigation by the Kewanee Police Department and the Henry County Coroner’s Office.
The billboard along the tree line was heavily damaged in the crash and was cut down to allow access to the vehicle. The billboard was partially in the road, so drivers should drive with caution in the southbound lane under the viaduct until the billboard is fully removed from the road. Kewanee Police placed cones around the billboard overnight to warn drivers of the obstruction in the road.
