ROCK ISLAND- Many police and firefighters were in Rock Island for a deadly crash where a vehicle ran into a tree.
On Tuesday, May 21, a car rammed a tree at 37th Street and 16th Avenue. Police said the driver died at the scene and a passenger died at a nearby hospital later that evening.
The driver was identified as 52-year-old Orlando Watts and the passenger was 42-year-old Lavelle Harris, according to Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson. Both were from Rock Island.
Gustafson said the two died of multiple traumatic injuries. They sustained their injuries when the vehicle they were riding in lost control and crashed into a tree.
Neighbors told News 8 that the vehicle caught on fire after hitting the tree. They tried putting it out with hoses and several people checked on the passengers before police showed up.
The vehicle was towed around 7:10 p.m. Tuesday.
Gustafson said a toxicology analysis would be performed, but no autopsies.
Several people gathered around the accident.
