1 Dead, 3 Critically Injured In Wrong-Way Crash On Lake Shore Drive
Updated 12/22/14 - 11:08 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A driver was killed early Monday, when he crashed on Lake Shore Drive, while driving the wrong way.
Police said they suspect alcohol might have been a factor when a 26-year-old man drove his Nissan Sentra south in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive, and hit two other cars -- one of them head-on -- near 40th Street around 2:40 a.m.
The driver who was going the wrong way was killed in the crash. He was alone in his vehicle. Three other people from one of the two cars he hit were critically injured.
"When we tried to move out of the way, we were hit on our right side, which is where I was sitting; and the airbags just went up," said Corron Baskin, a passenger in one of the cars. "It was pretty scary for me. I've never been in a car accident before. I saw the aftermath, and that is what was hard for me. It was pretty scary just seeing those cars in that shape like that."
Baskin and a friend were in a Ford Fusion that was struck on the side in the crash. All she saw was the flash of headlights from the oncoming car before her own life flashed before her eyes.
"I'm so happy to be alive. I'm actually visiting from Minnesota to visit my family here. So I'm really grateful right now," Baskin said.
Two people from the other car were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and another was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. All three were in serious to critical condition.
"It's very sad, but I am very happy that I survived, and I'm able to live another day, but it's very sad with it being very close to the holidays that something like that occurred," Baskin said.
Three other people -- including Baskin and her friend -- declined medical treatment.
Podcast
The northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive were closed for nearly 4 ½ hours after the crash, from Oakwood Boulevard to 47th Street. Traffic appeared to be moving again by 7:10 a.m. Some motorists resorted to driving on the Lakefront bike path near Lake Shore Drive to get around the crash site.
Police said they suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, but were waiting for the results of an autopsy and toxicology tests to confirm that suspicion.
