Four Women Killed In I-290 Rollover Crash Identified
ADDISON, Ill. (STMW) -- Four women who were killed in a rollover crash on the outbound Eisenhower Expressway extension in west suburban Addison on Thursday morning have been identified.
The women killed in the crash were identified by the DuPage County Coroner's office as Maria Duran, 44, of Chicago; Juanna Anaya, 44, of Chicago; Maria Orellana; and Donna Mejia. Orellana is 43 and Mejia is 28, according to Illinois State Police.
State Police initially said all four victims were from Chicago.
The SUV driver, Margot Santillan, 31, of Chicago, has been ticketed for improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed, not having a valid driver's license, having no insurance, and having suspended registration for no insurance, Illinois State Police said.
The survivors are Santillan, a 43-year-old man, a 28-year-old man and a 51-year-old man.
The crash happened about 6 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the Eisenhower (I-290) near Route 83 in Addison. State police said Santillan was speeding when she lost control, and the SUV rolled over several times before it landed in a ditch off the interstate, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Three back-seat passengers were ejected and pronounced dead at the scene, Illinois State Police Lt. Brian Windle said at a news conference Thursday.
Aside from the driver and passenger in the front, the SUV had seat belts for three middle-seat passengers and two back-seat passengers. But there were eight people in the vehicle, including the driver, Windle said.
Although the crash remains under investigation, police confirmed the driver and the front passenger were wearing seat belts. Despite wearing a seat belt, the front passenger was among the four killed.
The group of five women and three men was employed with a Chicago temp agency and heading to a job in the western suburbs. Windle said all occupants of the SUV had work IDs from the temp agency.
The surviving victims were initially taken to three area hospitals in critical condition: Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village and Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights.
According to Addison Fire Chief Don Markowski, the driver was able to communicate, was conscious and walking after the crash. The other victims were not aware of what had happened.
Although some passing drivers called 911 to report the crash, no one stopped, Windle said. As of Thursday morning, no witnesses had provided information to police, which Windle called "shocking."
"We're assuming someone witnessed it, maybe went on to work," Windle said. "That's why we're asking if they witnessed it to come forward so the investigators can find out how exactly this happened."
Anyone with information should call state police at (847) 931-2405.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
