Crime & Safety
Slippery Roads Lead to Fatal Crash, Numerous Accidents
The identity of the victim in a crash on I-80, west of Minooka, has not been released. There were also several crashes at I-55 and Weber Road, state police said.
By Ron Kremer and Shannon Antinori
Slippery conditions led to a number of accidents in area roadways Thursday morning, including a fatal crash on Interstate 80 near Minooka and three minor collisions on I-55 near Weber Road, Illinois State Police Trooper DeAnn Falat said.
She said one individual was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries following the three wrecks on I-55 at Weber Road.
"Conditions were very slippery," Falat said. "They still are. Cars are going into ditches all over the place. Because of the extreme cold, the salt isn't working to melt the ice and snow on the roads. We're working to clean up everything quickly and safely."
In the I-80 crash, a pickup truck heading west struck the back of a semi-trailer that was parked on the shoulder near a rest area. The pickup then bounced back into the roadway, hitting another pickup truck near mile marker 118.
A passenger in the first pickup truck was pronounced dead on arrival at Morris Hospital, police said. His identity has not been released. The driver of both pick-up trucks and the semi were also transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash happened shortly after 5 a.m. and resulted in I-80 being closed and then partially closed for several hours.
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