Semi Driver Tailing Too Closely Caused Fatal I-55 Crash: Police

CHICAGO, IL — A five-vehicle, chain-reaction fatal crashon I-55 Monday all started with the driver of a semi following too closely, Illinois State Police said Tuesday.

A 59-year-old Logansport, Indiana man was behind the wheel of the semi hauling 40,000 pounds of frozen meat just before 11 a.m. Monday. That semi rammed into the back of a Ford pickup driven by a 43-year-old Chicago man. The pickup then crashed into a green minivan, which was shoved under the trailer of a second semi truck hauling 17,800 pounds of paint, ABC7 reports. That semi then hit a 2002 Honda Civic, driven by a 35-year-old Chicago man. All but the Civic caught fire.

Four drivers escaped. The driver who died was in a minivan beneath one of the trucks, and was not discovered until after the flames were extinguished. The Cook County Medical Examiner will use dental records to identify the driver.