Two people are dead after separate crashes in Monroe County on Monday

(WWJ) The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is investigating two separate crashes that killed two people and injured several others in the county on Monday.

The first crash happened in Frenchtown Township shortly before 5:30 p.m., involving a 69-year-old man from Beverly Hills, Florida, on Enrico Fermi Drive, northwest of Leroux Road.

Sheriff's official said the man was driving northwest on Enrico Fermi in a Ford F-150 when he went off the road, over some railroad tracks, into a field and then came to rest in a drainage ditch.

He was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries.

Alcohol and speed are not factors in the crash, the sheriff's office said, and they're still working to determine why the driver went off the road. His name is not being released at this time.

The second deadly crash happened on Telegraph Road in Erie Township, shortly before midnight.

Investigators determined that 37-year-old Gary Akridge of Monroe was driving a GMC Sierra with passenger on board, northbound on Telegraph, when he crossed the centerline and hit a Chevy Equinox with two people inside.

Official said a 19-year-old Monroe woman driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee then swerved to try to avoid it, but also hit Akridge's car.

Akridge was pronoucned dead at the scene, according to the sheriff's office.

All the others in the vehicles were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries, and were last reported to be in stable condition.

Deputies said speed and careless caused the second crash.

Both investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call 734-240-7541.Anonymous tips can be called into Crime Stoppers 1-800-Speak Up (1-800-773-2587), or can be submitted online at 1800speakup.org .