Multiple-vehicle crash in South Deering leaves 1 dead, 8 hospitalized

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A multiple-vehicle crash on Saturday sent eight people, including three children, to the hospital, many of them with serious injuries, police said. 

The driver of the man who caused the crash has died, police said. 

The accident happened around 5 p.m. on Saturday near 122nd Street and Torrence Avenue. A man was driving a sedan northbound on Torrence when he went into oncoming traffic and struck an SUV head-on.  That set off a chain reaction involving two other vehicles that were also driving northbound.

One of those vehicles swerved to avoid the accident and hit a light pole. The fourth vehicle also tried to avoid the crash and "struck a fixed object," according to the Chicago Police Department. 

The driver of the sedan who set off the crash was hospitalized in serious condition but died at the hospital.  

Five people in the SUV that he hit included three children and two adults. The adults were transported in serious condition. The children, a 9-year-old, a 5-year-old, and a 2-year-old all were transported to the hospital in good condition.

The driver who hit the light pole is in critical condition, police said. The driver of the fourth car is also in critical condition. 

The sedan driver was sent to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. 

The others are at the University of Chicago Hospitals.