1 Dead, 2 Critically Injured In Harvey Crash
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One person was killed and two others were critically injured late Wednesday night, when a car slammed into a semi-tractor trailer truck in south suburban Harvey.
Neighbors said it happened at a spot that has a lot of near misses.
The car was headed east on 159th Street around 11 p.m., and the truck was pulling into traffic from a railyard near West Avenue. A Nissan carrying three young men in their 20s slammed into the semi, and became wedged under the trailer, trapping all three men inside.
Firefighters spent more than half an hour trying to get the men out. One man died at the scene. The other two were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
The busy road where the crash happened recently was widened to accommodate the constant truck traffic.
Officials suggested the car was going much faster than the posted 35 mph speed limit, and was at fault for the crash. Harvey city spokesman Sean Howard said the truck was making a legal left turn when the Nissan Maxima hit it.
"At some point, at a high rate of speed, the driver – without any skid marks to slow down – ran directly into the trailer, being pinned underneath," Howard said.
He said that indicates the driver must have been distracted.
"There was a cell phone found underneath the steering wheel, on the floor of the driver's side. That normally would indicate to us, so at the point where we subpoena the phone records, and track the last texts or the last phone call, that will probably widen the scope for us to be able to determine exactly what happened," he said.
While preliminary reports indicate the Nissan's driver was at fault, officials acknowledged concerns from neighbors and truckers that the busy intersection might need another traffic light. The closest one is a block away.
"We have East Hazel Crest police that sits right here in Harvey to give the citations to truck drivers, and this is not their city. This is not even their platform, so this is a big problem. They need to put a light," said Ashley Holdman, who lives nearby.
Howard said the possibility of another traffic light is worth considering, given the fatality in Wednesday night's crash.