ATV Fatality In Joliet Along Interstate 55 Overnight: State Police

JOLIET, IL ?ABC Channel 7 out of Chicago reported that the driver of an ATV was killed early Saturday morning in a wrong way crash along Interstate 55 in Joliet, which was confirmed by state police.

Illinois State Police told Joliet Patch that around 4:45 a.m., ISP Troop 3 received a report of someone operating an all-terrain vehicle on I-55 southbound near Route 30 in Joliet.

ISP troopers responded to the area and found the person on the ATV.

Subsequently, the ATV began driving the wrong way on I-55. Troopers immediately made attempts to safely locate and stop the ATV, police told Patch. The ATV headed northbound in the southbound lanes, the police advised.

According to state police, the ATV driver was involved in a crash with a commercial vehicle along southbound I-55 north of Black Road, resulting in the death of the ATV driver.

"The investigation is in its infancy, and no additional information is available at this time," State Police informed Patch around 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

One Joliet Patch reader shared the following comments on Patch's Facebook site.

"I saw him sitting under the overpass at 55 and 30 around 3:45, I was driving to work about to get on 55 south.. I thought it was odd but there is a lot of odd people at our intersections lately. Plus being Halloween who knew. He was sitting there on the ATV, all in black with a helmet on."

Separately, just before noon on Friday, Crest Hill Police handled a traffic fatality that ended the life of a 34-year-old Joliet woman. She was driving a Jeep Wrangler and was thrown from her vehicle after crashing into a semi-tractor trailer heading in the opposite direction along Route 53 near Renwick Road. The 71-year-old semi driver out of Chicago was not hurt. Three passengers in the woman's Jeep were rushed to Silver Cross Hospital.

So far, the Will County Coroner's Office has not released the identities of either of those killed in the traffic fatalities.