A driver escaped without injury after he crashed into a ditch during flash flooding, partially submerging his car along Route 45 near Antioch Monday evening.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Antioch Fire Department responded around 6:20 p.m. Monday to Route 45 between Miller Road and Route 173 in unincorporated Antioch for a report of a car that crashed into a ditch.
A man driving on Route 45 exited the roadway for an unknown reason and crashed into a ditch on the west side, which partially submerged his Nissan Sentra.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said the car was around three feet deep in water.
The driver, a 19-year-old Lindenhurst man, was initially trapped in the car but eventually escaped.
Firefighters arrived to find the man was already out of the car, Antioch Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Cook said at the scene.
The man was not injured and no one else was in the vehicle.
Covelli said the car sustained “significant damage.”
Antioch Towing & Recovery responded to the scene to tow it out of the water.
The incident happened amid heavy rainfall and a flash flood warning was in effect for northwestern Lake County.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said in the warning that thunderstorms were producing up to an inch of rain every 15 minutes.
A portion of Route 45 where the incident occurred was closed for several hours due to high-standing water in the roadway.
The closure temporarily left numerous semi-trucks stranded because there was not enough room on Route 45 to turn around.