Icy Roads Blamed For Serious Crashes Across Area
UPDATED 12/29/11 7:40 a.m.
BATAVIA, Ill. (CBS) -- Treacherous, ice-covered roads early Thursday were blamed for numerous serious accidents across the Chicago area.
Bridges and overpasses were the most severely affected.
As CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, three of the accidents happened within a few miles of each other in the western suburbs.
The car slid onto the tracks after an earlier crash on Roosevelt Road, Metra officials told the Sun-Times Media Wire reported.
One person was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield from the scene, the Sun-Times Media Wire reported. The person's injuries were not considered serious.
Within a short distance in Batavia, several people were injured in a multi-vehicle accident on Fabyan Parkway near Roosevelt Road/East State Street (Illinois 38.) One car crossed the center line and slammed into at least one other vehicle.
Meanwhile on Kirk Road just south of Route 38, a multi-vehicle accident involving a semi-trailer truck hauling Coca-Cola products was reported. Information on injuries in that crash was not immediately available.
Kirk Road was closed between Route 38 and Fabyan Parkway.
In Bolingbrook, three separate crashes were reported at the junction of Interstates 355 and 55. One crash involved a pickup truck that hit a wall on the I-355 ramp over I-55, while another involved a semi-trailer truck and six other vehicles.
In Des Plaines, seven people were injured in a pin-in crash on the bridge over the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) over Elmhurst Road. Fire crews had to use the jaws of life to extract some accident victims.
Elmhurst Road was closed between Oakton Street and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90).
In South Elgin, Route 31 was closed south of Stearns Road, after multiple vehicles hit a guard rail.
Not far away, Dunham Road was also closed at Stearns Road, after multiple vehicles spun out of control and ended up in a ditch.
In Volo, Belvidere Road (Illinois 120) was closed at U.S. 12 due to another accident.
Habermehl says black ice is a danger on the roads across the Chicago area, and if possible, it might be a good idea to stay off the roads for now.
Salt trucks were working to eliminate the ice on Chicago area expressways Thursday morning, Illinois State Police told the Sun-Times Media Wire.
