New Lenox driver dies after crash with U.S. Postal Service van

A New Lenox man who was driving a Mini Cooper has died after he was involved in a crash May 31 with a U.S. Postal Service van.

Charles Dircks, 83, the driver of the Mini Cooper, was pronounced dead Monday at Silver Cross Hospital, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Officers responded to the crash at 2:15 p.m. May 31 at Nelson and Laraway roads in New Lenox, according to a statement from the New Lenox Police Department.

Officers learned that the Mini Cooper and a Mercedes-Benz Postal Service van collided at a near-head-on angle, which caused the Mini Cooper to flip on its driver side, police said.

The Mini Cooper was traveling south on Nelson Road, while the Postal Service vehicle was traveling north on the same road, police said.

A preliminary investigation of the crash led officers to believe the Mini Cooper entered the northbound lane of Nelson Road before crash, police said.

Officers found Dircks “unresponsive and slumped over in his seat,” police said.

Dircks was taken to Silver Cross Hospital.

As of Wednesday morning, officers did not have any indication that the crash was the result of criminal behavior or impairment, police said.

The crash still is under review by the Lincoln-Way Crash Reconstruction Team.

The team consists of officers from police departments in New Lenox, Frankfort and Mokena who are trained in accident reconstruction.