ORANGEVILLE — A 27-year-old Freeport man was pronounced dead at the scene of a horrific accident discovered at about 7 a.m. Thursday morning just outside of Orangeville.

The one-vehicle crash likely happened as many as 12-hours before crews were dispatched upon discovery of mangled wreckage and body of the victim — about 30 yards off of the road in a field, police said.

“The preliminary investigation indicates Thomas Zulke was driving northbound on Illinois 26 when the vehicle crossed the southbound lane of traffic” and went off the road, according to a statement from Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall.

Officials said once it left the road, the car went down a steep embankment on the west side of the highway and somehow became airborne, before striking a tree and coming to rest west of the highway.

Authorities said Zulke was ejected from the vehicle during the crash.

Officials said the crash may have happened as early as 7 p.m. Wednesday, but due to the car’s location, the nearby terrain and weather conditions, the wrecked car wasn’t spotted until early Thursday morning.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday and the crash remains under investigation, police said.