A young Westville man has died from injuries suffered in a crash involving his motorcycle on Tuesday. Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup says 28-year-old Tyler Karuzis was pronounced dead at 10:33 a.m. today (Thursday, August 23, 2018) at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. The Coroner says Karuzis died from traumatic head injuries he received during the crash.
Illinois State Police say the tragedy occurred along Illinois route one at Greenwood Avenue (in the Hegeler area) south of Danville around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday. Troopers say their preliminary investigation found that a pedestrian ran in front of a pickup truck causing the truck driver to slam on his brakes. Karuzis was riding behind the truck on his motorcycle and laid the bike down in an effort to avoid striking the truck. But the cycle struck the truck anyway.
State Police cited the pedestrian for crossing at a location other than a crosswalk and improperly walking on a roadway. The pedestrian and the pickup truck driver escaped unhurt.
Hundreds of people have offered their condolences to the Karuzis family on social media as word spread about the tragedy. And some placed flowers along Illinois route one near the site of Tuesday’s crash.
