1 Dead, 3 Critical in Antioch Crash; Alcohol, Speed Suspected

Chicago - A woman in her 20s was dead on the scene and three other people were critically hurt in a head-on wreck involving speed and alcohol early Thursday in an unincorporated area of Antioch.

An SUV and compact car collided head on at 27500 W. Grass Lake Rd., Antioch Fire Chief John Nixon said.

The wreck occurred at 1:45 a.m. when the Mitsubishi hatchback driven by the woman killed was westbound on Grass Lake Road and collided with the GMC SUV that was eastbound, according to Lake County Sheriff's police Sgt. Rick White.

A motorist driving past came upon the accident and called 911.

White said the female motorist who was in 20s had to be extricated from the 2000, 2-door silver car and she was pronounced dead on the scene. She had no passengers. Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller who was on the scene confirmed the death of the woman.

A man driving the SUV was ejected, and a man and a woman who were passengers in the SUV had to be extricated. Airbags deployed in both vehicles, White said.

The vehicles were mangled together, resembling an accordion, Nixon said.

“It made the extrication difficult because everything was pressed in,” Nixon said.

The ejected motorist was found conscious on the scene but suffered many injuries, Nixon said.

Helicopters took all three surviving victims -- who were all in very critical condition with blunt force trauma -- to hospital trauma centers, Nixon said.

The surviving motorist was taken to Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford and his two SUV passengers were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, according to White who said while their conditions were critical, they were expected to survive.

Both vehicles are registered out of Illinois and the victims were all from Illinois, according to White.

“We have no eyewitnesses to the accident,’’ according to White who said it was too early to speculate who was at fault in the wreck.

“Most of the collision occurred in the westbound lane of traffic. Both [vehicles] had substantial damage, mostly front-end,’’ White said.

The SUV, which rolled over multiple times, was found on the north side and the sedan was found on the south side of the road's ditch, Nixon said.

The crash occurred on a curve where the speed limit is 40 mph and speeding by at least one of the vehicles is suspected, according to White. Alcohol use is also being investigated because of evidence found at the scene, according to White.

It was “clear and dry’’ at the time of the crash, which appears to have occurred at speeds above 40 mph.

No citations have been issued as of 4 a.m., White said.