Overnight Crash Shuts Down I-57
MARKHAM, Ill. (CBS) -- Interstate 57 was shut down overnight for a dramatic rescue following a crash.
The response created a long backup on I-57 near Kedzie Avenue. Both sides of the expressway were shut down.
The crash happened in the inbound lanes of the expressway around 12:30 a.m. Monday. A man driving a car apparently fell asleep at the wheel, and the vehicle veered off the road just north of Kedzie Avenue near a construction area for a new interchange with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Illinois State Police said.
The car then struck a tree and landed on an electrical junction box, which is a container for electrical connections used in the nearby construction, state police said.
The lanes had to be shut down to allow a helicopter to transport a female passenger injured in the crash, the trooper said. She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with non-life-threatening injuries, he said. Officials also worked to shut off power to the electrical box.
It was not immediately clear if the driver would face citations in connection with the crash, the trooper said. No one else was in the vehicle and all lanes of the expressway are open again as of early Monday.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
