HERRIN - Charles A. "Chuck" Amati - a Freeman Spur man who attained fame first as a Herrin High School linebacker and later as a racecar driver - was pronounced dead after a one-vehicle crash about 7:32 a.m. Tuesday.

Amati, 68, was the only occupant of his vehicle when it left the roadway and crashed into a light pole at 600 N. Park Ave. in Herrin.

Herrin Police said in a release Tuesday it appears Amati could have suffered an undetermined medical event before hitting the pole.

He was taken to Herrin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The crash is being investigated by the Herrin Police Department and a Williamson County crash reconstruction officer.

Amati was a winning driver in sprint and USAC champ feature races in the 1970s and '80s.

In a 1982 interview in The Southern, Amati said he'd lied about his age so he could enter his first race when he was just 17. He'd become fascinated by the sport as a child, when his parents would take him to the dirt car races at the Du Quoin State Fair.

Amati first became interested in sprint car racing in 1970, but his interest in racing goes back to the late 1950s, when he began driving dragsters and stock cars.

Although weighing just 124 pounds, he was a standout linebacker for a Herrin football team that went undefeated his sophomore and senior seasons (1955 and 1957).

Funeral arrangements are pending at Johnson-Hughes Funeral Home in Herrin.

tara.fasol@thesouthern.com / 351-5824

linda.rush@thesouthern.com / 351-5079