Joliet teen driver killed in Will County crash

An 18-year-old driver died from injuries he suffered in a crash in Joliet Township.

Deputies with the Will County Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash about 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the 17300 block of New Lenox Road.

Deputies discovered a Honda sedan with “significant damage” to the passenger side of the vehicle, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

The driver of the vehicle was Mason Smolik, 18, of Joliet, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Smolik lost control, crossed into the opposite lane of travel and then slid sideways off the roadway, police said.

The vehicle then struck a “large, unoccupied piece of construction equipment,” police said.

A portion of the road had been under construction.

Smolik was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where he died from his injuries, police said.

The crash remains under investigation.