Investigation Continues into Tuesday's Fatal Motorcycle Crash

It could be up to two weeks before a reconstruction team determines the cause of a fatal motorcycle accident Tuesday afternoon in Darien, Deputy Police Chief John Cooper said.

released Tuesday said William Pott, 51, of the 8200 block of Deerwood Court in Woodridge, collided with an SUV around 4:30 p.m. near the Speedway gas station at Plainfield and Lemont Roads.

Argonne paramedics took Pott, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he was pronounced dead at 5:15 p.m., the DuPage County Coroner's Office said. Pott died of multiple traumatic injuries to his head and chest, according to a preliminary report from the coroner's office. 

The driver of the SUV, also from Woodridge, was not injured in the crash.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no one had been cited in connection with the accident, police said.

A patrol officer driving on Plainfield toward Lemont Road discovered the accident before anyone had called paramedics, Cooper said. The officer, however, did not witness the accident.

Although more accidents happen in intersections than other parts of the roadway, Cooper said reports don't show an unusually high number of incidents at Plainfield and Lemont.

"That intersection has a few accidents a year but it's no different from 82nd and Lemont," Cooper said. "There are more at 87th and Lemont because it's a downhill grade."

Patch readers, several of whom said they witnessed the accident, shared their reactions in the comments section and on Facebook.

Patch comments

: "I was the cna who stayed by that man until the cops and paramedics came. He was in and out of consciousness. I feel for his family and he will always be in my thoughts and prayers. As well as the woman who he colided with."

: I live in the subdivision just west of where the accident occurred. I came out of my street (Meadowwood) at approx. 6:15 p.m. It looked like i just missed the accident. I noticed the traffic signals were turned off and there were police officers directing traffic. I saw the motorcycle on the ground.

I always said with the gas station there, it's an accident waiting to happen.

I'm sorry it had to be so serious.

Vernice Papacek

: that day i was driving home from school and i saw the motorcycle and lots of blood. I got shocked and I felt horrible and I still have tiers when i think about it. Even though I didn't know him I was so sorry for him. I cried like an hour!

Facebook comments

Dana Pargauskas-Murray: Shocking to hear motorcylist got killed on Plainfield Road and Lemont. How could it happened? Alway go that intersection every day.

Mike Marlene Chidichimo-Brady: My son, his friend and I were backed up in a traffic on Plainfield and saw a helmet and motorcycle on the ground. So sad. My heart goes out to his family.