Driver Killed After Hitting Dump Truck On Stevenson Expressway
UPDATED 08/04/11 3:30 p.m.
FOREST VIEW, Ill. (CBS) -- A driver has died after his car hit a dump truck on the Stevenson Expressway early Thursday, in an accident that caused a traffic jam for miles.
As CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, the car hit the five-axle dump truck just before 4 a.m. on the inbound Stevenson near Central Avenue. The dump truck was out for paving work on the expressway.
The car was completely demolished, and Fire Department crews had to tear off the roof of the vehicle to extricate the driver.
The motorist was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead, Illinois State Police said. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed that the man was pronounced dead at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn at 4:35 a.m.
All inbound lanes of the Stevenson were closed following the accident. By the 6 a.m. hour, the far right lane and part of the right shoulder were open, but traffic was at a standstill as far back as LaGrange Road.
Travel times were reported as high as an hour and 10 minutes from the Tri-State Tollway to Lake Shore Drive on the Stevenson. Habermehl strongly advises staying off the Stevenson altogether.
