A South Jacksonville police officer died after the squad car he was driving turned into the path of an ambulance as both vehicles were headed to an emergency medical call on Friday night.
Scot Fitzgerald, 32, died in the crash that happened at 8:54 p.m. on Illinois 267 about one mile north of Nortonville Road, near Murrayville in Morgan County.
"The South Jacksonville Police Department stands in support of Officer Fitzgerald's family during and long after this tragedy," read a post signed by South Jacksonville Police Chief Joshua Hallock on the department's Facebook page. "Our hearts are broken."
Illinois State Police reported the police officer was headed south on Illinois 267 responding to an emergency call. A Lifestar ambulance carrying three crew members was following the police car while on its way to the same call.
Unable to locate the person involved in the medical call, Fitzgerald pulled to the right shoulder and then initiated a U-turn into the path of the ambulance, state police said. The ambulance struck the police car on its driver's side.