MADISON COUNTY — A Highland firefighter and emergency medical technician died when his motorcycle veered off a highway and struck a tree Thursday afternoon.

Madison County Coroner Nicholas Novacich’s office identified the man as Gavin L. Schlarmann, 21. The cause of the crash remained under investigation by the Illinois State Police.

The incident took place about 2 p.m. on Highway 160 near Cherokee Road south of Grantfork, the state police said in a news release.

Schlarmann was headed northbound on 160 driving a 2025 Kawasaki motorcycle, the release stated. For an unknown reason, he ran off the roadway and struck a tree. He was pronounced dead in the emergency room of St. Joseph Hospital in Highland at 3:10 p.m., the coroner’s office said.

The Highland Police Department later identifie

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