Man killed in Brighton Park crash

A 78-year-old man was killed Monday in a two-vehicle crash in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side.

The man drove his vehicle forward from a stop sign on 36th Place at California Avenue about 9 a.m. when a northbound Ford Taurus on California t-boned his driver’s side, according to a Chicago police crash report. There is no stop sign or light on California at that location.

The Ford continued forward, crashed into a pole farther down the block and burst into flames, the report states.

Officers responded and found the 78-year-old’s vehicle stopped on a sidewalk, the report states. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

The driver of the Ford, a 21-year-old man, was taken to the same hospital with a broken knee, police said. A passenger in the Ford refused medical attention.

An autopsy released Tuesday found the 78-year-old died from blunt force injuries to his chest from the crash, the medical examiner’s office said.

A police spokesperson initially said the 78-year-old’s car had struck the other car in the crash, but clarified on Wednesday that his car was actually hit.

Chicago police’s Major Accidents team is investigating, police said.