A two-mile stretch of Route 83 in Long Grove is closed for extended accident investigation after a semi-truck driver was killed in a crash, police said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Countryside Fire Protection District responded around 11:10 a.m. Thursday to Route 83 and Westmoreland Drive in Long Grove for a two-vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that a semi-truck was traveling northbound on Route 83.
A 2015 Toyota minivan, driven by a 45-year-old Vernon Hills woman, was attempting to turn left onto eastbound Westmoreland Drive from southbound on Route 83 when it was t-boned by the truck.
The semi-truck, driven by an adult male, then struck a traffic light pole and drove into an embankment on the northeast corner of the intersection. Both vehicles sustained major damage, Covelli said.
The driver of the semi-truck, who was heavily trapped in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the minivan was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening.
The semi-truck was carrying 40,000 pounds of cargo. Witnesses reported the traffic light for northbound and southbound Route 83 was yellow at the time of the crash.
Extended extrication will be required to remove the semi-truck driver and it will take a significant amount of time to remove the truck from the ditch, Covelli said.
Route 83 is closed from Route 45 to Gilmer Road and will be closed into the evening rush hour.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.