A Romeoville man has been cited after a fatal crash overnight on Interstate 55 near Joliet that killed the chief executive of a Bellwood hat company.
The victim was identified as George Stratton, 80, of Oak Brook.
Stratton’s nephew, Steven Stratton, said his uncle was the chief executive of Stratton Hats in Bellwood, the world’s largest manufacturer of uniform hats.
Stratton was driving a 1999 Lincoln Continental when he was rear-ended by a 2009 Toyota Camry driven by Tommy Carter, 21, of Romeoville, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. John Rattigan said.
The crash happened at 1:13 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-55 just south of Jefferson Street (U.S. 52), state police said.
Carter was ticketed for failing to reduce speed to avoid causing an accident. Rattigan said neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the crash.
Stratton was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet where he was pronounced dead, Rattigan said. He was not wearing a seat belt.
Carter was taken to Saint Joseph with non-life-threatening injures, police said. No one else was in either vehicle and no one else was injured.
The northbound lanes of I-55 were closed until about 4 a.m.
Source: Sun-Times Media Wire, November 27, 2009
