A semi truck driver is dead after his truck rolled over after being struck head-on by a car in Newport Township early Thursday morning, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
At around 5:10 a.m. on Thursday, Lake County Sheriffโs deputies and firefighters/paramedics responded to the area of Russell Road and Park Lane in Newport Township, near the Wisconsin border, for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries. Sheriffโs deputies arrived and located a Volvo Tractor-Trailer and Jeep Compass with significant damage, officials said.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, a preliminary investigation showed that the Jeep, driven by a 38-year-old woman from Geneva, Illinois, was traveling eastbound on Russell Road. For an unknown reason, she crossed the double-yellow center divider and struck a westbound Volvo Tractor-Trailer driven by a 65-year-old man from Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Authorities said that the Volvo was carrying a 40,000-pound load and rolled over into a ravine on the south side of the roadway after being struck. The semi truck sustained major damage.
Both drivers were transported to St. Catherineโs Medical Center in Kenosha. The driver of the Volvo was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. The driver of the Jeep was treated and released. Sheriff’s officials said sheโs cooperating with the investigation.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriffโs Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.