Sycamore delivery driver identified after fatal crash involving semi

Aug 11, 2023

SYCAMORE – Authorities have identified a Sycamore delivery driver who died Monday after a two-vehicle crash involving a semi-trailer truck, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash about 7:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Plank and Lukens roads in Sycamore.

When police arrived to the crash site they saw a 2014 semi-trailer truck and a 2023 Ford van in a ditch north of the intersection, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The delivery van driver, Blake A. Mathison, 59, of Sycamore was pronounced dead at the crash site. He was the van’s only occupant, according to the sheriff’s office.

The semi-trailer truck driver, Hector M. Vela, 27, of Elgin, was uninjured, police said. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Vela was cited by police for improper lane usage and disobeying a no passing zone after police alleged he failed to slow down going eastbound on Plank Road for a line of stopped cars. As a result, Vela allegedly drove into the westbound lane of traffic on Plank Road, colliding with Mathison’s van.

Authorities said Mathison died in the collision.

Vela also agreed to a blood and urinalysis screen to determine whether drugs or alcohol were in his system at the time of the crash, according to the sheriff’s office. Results for those tests remain pending as of Tuesday.

First responders from Sycamore, Burlington and Maple Park fire departments assisted.

The crash remains under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit and the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office.