
16 people were transported to area hospitals after a Naval Base van traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail in North Chicago Sunday evening, authorities said.
The North Chicago Police Department and North Chicago Fire Department responded around 8:40 p.m. Sunday to the area of Buckley Road and Sheridan Road.
Officers arrived to find a single-vehicle crash involving a red van, which is government-owned and from nearby Naval Station Great Lakes.
Police officials told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that an investigation showed the vehicle had been traveling eastbound on Buckley Road at a high rate of speed.
The van proceeded under the Sheridan Road overpass while traveling on the ramp to Sheridan Road.
The van collided with the guardrail fencing along the ramp’s curve, police officials said.
The impact caused the van to come to a rest, facing the opposite direction in which it was traveling.
16 people, who were believed to be Naval Base members, were inside the van and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
A request was made for a total of nine ambulances to respond to the scene from fire departments in Lake County.
The Waukegan, Lake Forest, Gurnee, Newport, Winthrop Harbor, Great Lakes, Zion and Lake Bluff fire departments assisted at the scene and covered North Chicago fire stations.
All 16 occupants were transported to area hospitals for evaluation and treatment of their injuries, police officials said.
The driver of the vehicle, who did not appear to be under the influence, was cited for reckless driving and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.
The roadway was closed for approximately three hours.