Investigators say a 20-year-old Northwestern University student killed in a wrong-way driving crash on Route 41 in Lake Bluff was the at-fault driver and was suspected to be impaired.
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.
MCAT investigators learned Perez was the driver of a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, which was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 41.
A 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by a 45-year-old man, was traveling northbound on Route 41 at the same time, according to MCAT.
The Subaru crashed head-on into the Jeep. Officers pulled Perez from her vehicle following the crash and she was pronounced dead.
Investigators say that Perez was suspected to have been impaired at the time of the crash.
The driver of the Jeep was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he remains with severe injuries but his condition is stable.
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.
The incident remains under investigation by MCAT and the Lake Bluff Police Department.