Crime & Safety

Manhattan Man in Fatal Car Accident Identified

Manhattan resident Jake Stevens, 22, died in a Frankfort Township car accident. New Lenox man Kevin Krohn was driving the vehicle, and police suspect alcohol was involved in the crash.

Police believe alcohol was a factor in the fatal car accident that killed a Manhattan man Saturday while the driver, a New Lenox man, escaped. 

The accident occurred about 3:45 a.m. Aug. 25 in Frankfort Township. The passenger, 22-year-old Jake Stevens of Manhattan, died as a result of burns. 

Stevens was a passenger in a car driven by Kevin Krohn, 22, of New Lenox, when the vehicle went off the road and hit an obstruction. The car burst into flames, said Kathy Hoffmeyer, Will County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman. 

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Stevens' identity wasn't determined immediately, Hoffmeyer said. The Will County Coroner's Office identified Stevens through his dental records.

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According to police, Krohn, who was wearing a seatbelt, managed to escape the car and crawl away. He suffered a broken leg and was treated at  in New Lenox.

An unidentified witness spotted the blaze and called 911. The Frankfort Fire Protection District doused the fire at 104th Avenue and Steger Road. Sheriff's deputies talked to Krohn at the hospital. He reportedly told them that he jerked the steering wheel and lost control of the vehicle.

Krohn was issued a ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Sheriff's police suspect alcohol was a factor in the accident. The accident remains under investigation.

Stevens was a 2008 graduate of Lincoln-Way Central High School. 

Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, at St. Joseph Church, 235 W. North St. in Manhattan. Burial will be at 10 a.m. A visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Forsythe Funeral Home in Manhattan. 

Read Stevens' full obituary on the Forsythe Funeral Home website.


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