A 49-year-old woman is in critical condition after she was thrown 30 feet when a vehicle struck her bicycle as she rode in a crosswalk in Lindenhurst Tuesday evening.
The Lindenhurst Police Department and Lake Villa Fire Protection District responded around 5:13 p.m. Tuesday to the intersection of Sand Lake Road and Country Place for a report of a vehicle crash.
Lindenhurst Police Chief Thomas Jones said officers arrived and discovered a bicyclist down in the roadway with critical injuries.
Witnesses told officers that the bicyclist was traveling northbound from Country Place South and came to a stop at Sand Lake Road.
The bicyclist activated the push-button crosswalk signal and the flashing lights on the signs were activated.
“The flashing lights are an indication to motorists that a pedestrian/bicyclist is entering the crosswalk, and drivers should yield,” Jones said.
A driver who witnessed the incident was traveling westbound on Sand Lake Road approaching the intersection at Country Place.
The witness observed the flashing lights and came to a stop in the left turn lane to yield to the bicyclist, Jones said.
The bicyclist entered the intersection and proceeded northbound. Another vehicle, which was traveling westbound on Sand Lake Road at Country Place, struck the bicyclist in the crosswalk.
Jones said the bicyclist, a 49-year-old Grayslake woman, was ejected and landed approximately 30 feet away.
She was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with critical injuries.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the bicyclist, a 73-year-old Lake Villa woman, remained on the scene, Jones said.
She was cited for failing to yield to the bicyclist in the crosswalk and released from the Lindenhurst Police Department.
The Lindenhurst Police Department is leading the ongoing investigation and anyone with additional information regarding the crash is asked to call 847-356-5400 or email [email protected].