Double Tragedy: Man Falsely Accused Of Raping, Murdering 3-Year-Old Daughter In Illinois Dies In Arkansas Crash

A man who mistakenly spent months behind bars for the rape and murder of his daughter near Chicago has died in a car crash in Arkansas.

Kevin Fox, 46, moved south to begin a new life after he was arrested in Will County, Illinois in 2004.

Sheriff's deputies accused Fox of raping and killing his three-year-old daughter, Riley Fox. The Chicago Tribune reported the girl was found drowned in a creek four miles from her Wilmington home.

Police said Fox admitted to the crimes on videotape. But after eight months behind bars, DNA evidence cleared him. Scott Eby confessed to the rape and murder in 2010, and now is serving a life sentence.

Yet Fox made more headlines by refusing a legal settlement with local law enforcement. He sued to clear his name and won more than $15 million in damages at trial.

Fox's attorney told WMAQ-TV that he was in a head-on crash in Arkansas Monday afternoon. Fox and another driver were killed.

“He was traveling down a two lane highway and a car that was coming towards him crossed over the center line and hit him head on and he was killed instantly at the scene,” Kathleen Zellner said.

State Police records reviewed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette confirm that the collision sent Fox's vehicle into a ditch along a state highway west of Little Rock, where it rolled over.

Fox lived in Dardanelle. He was married and a father of three.