(LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF) — Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies and Long Grove firefighters responded to Lake Cook Road and Hicks Road in Long Grove for a traffic crash with injuries Friday morning.
When Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at 1:25 AM, they found a 2013 Volkswagen Golf which collided with a tractor-trailer semi-truck. The Volkswagen was wedged underneath the trailer portion of the semi-truck, with extensive damage.
Preliminary investigation shows the driver of the semi-truck, a 33 year-old man from Fargo, North Dakota, was traveling westbound on Lake Cook Road. The driver of the semi-truck stopped at a red light at Hicks Road. When the light turned green, the driver of the semi-truck began accelerating, and the rear of the truck was struck by the Volkswagen, which was also traveling westbound.
The driver of the Volkswagen, a 21 year-old man from Crystal Lake, had to be extricated by Long Grove Fire Protection District and other local fire departments.
A LifeStar medical helicopter was called to the scene but disregarded. The driver was transported via ambulance to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with critical injuries. The driver of the semi-truck was uninjured.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit. Investigators will work to determine if drugs, alcohol, distraction, speed, or other elements played a factor in the crash.