The coroner has released the identity of a 20-year-old woman, who was a Northwestern University student, killed in a wrong-way driving crash on Route 41 in Lake Bluff.
The Lake Bluff Police Department, Lake Forest Fire Department and Lake Bluff Fire Department responded around 4:52 a.m. Sunday to Route 41 south of Route 176 for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake Bluff Deputy Police Chief Erik Gehrke said officers arrived to find two vehicles were involved in a front-end collision.
A preliminary investigation showed one of the two vehicles was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 41, resulting in the head-on crash.
The Lake Forest Fire Department responded with two ambulances to the scene.
One driver was determined to be deceased at the scene while the other driver was transported to an area hospital with “significant injuries,” Gehrke said.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said Monday that the deceased victim was identified as Britney Perez, 20, of Evanston. Perez is originally from Texas.
An autopsy performed on Perez on Monday showed she died from blunt force injuries in the crash, Banek said.
The drivers were the sole occupants of their vehicles and no other passengers were found.
The Lake Bluff Police Department requested assistance from the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) to aid in the investigation due to the severity of the crash.
Northbound Route 41 was shut down at Route 60 and remained closed until around 9:45 a.m. when the scene investigation was completed and the cars were removed.
Perez was a student at Northwestern University in Evanston, according to the school’s campus ministry.
The campus ministry said students who wished to talk to someone can do so by contacting them via phone or visiting the Sheil Catholic Center in Evanston.
Police have not yet said which vehicle Perez was driving or released further details on the crash.