5-Year Old Girl Killed In Crash At 151st And Harlem

ORLAND PARK, IL — A 5-year-old girl from Orland Park was killed Thursday night in a crash at a busy three-way intersection in the village. Evelyn Thomas was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as the victim of the fatal crash that reports indicate involved two cars at 151st Street and Harlem Avenue in Orland Park. She died of multiple injuries related to a motor vehicle collision, according to the Medical Examiner. Her death has been ruled an accident.

Orland Park Police Lt. Ken Rosinski said an SUV heading south on Harlem around 9:40 p.m. hit the passenger's side of the sedan Thomas was in while it was turning left onto 151st Street. The impact of the crash then sent the sedan into a snowplow that was stopped at the intersection.

The adult driver of the sedan and another child in the car, a 6-year-old girl, were injured and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Their conditions weren't known as of early Friday afternoon. The driver of the SUV also suffered minor injuries, Rosinski said.

All passengers were wearing seat belts and the young girls were properly belted in booster seats at the time of the accident, a spokesman for the Orland Fire District said. Paramedics tried for more than 40 minutes to revive Thomas.

Both northbound and southbound traffic on Harlem had yellow lights at the time of the crash, which is now under investigation by the Orland Park Police Department's traffic unit. Rosinski said there isn't a set timetable for when the investigation should be completed.