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The driver of a vehicle that struck a tree and a light pole in the Austin neighborhood Friday morning was pronounced dead and a passenger in his vehicle was critically injured, said Chicago police.

The crash happened about 10 a.m. in the 5000 block of West Chicago Avenue, according to Officer Laura Amezaga, a police spokeswoman.

According to police, the man who was killed was driving a 2002 Kia sedan east when he struck the tree and then a metal pole.

The driver, whose age was not immediately available, was pronounced dead, and the 25-year-old passenger was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Police were investigating the cause of the crash.