A 60-year-old man from Waukegan died after authorities say he was critically injured in a multiple-vehicle crash that shut down Interstate 94 near Northbrook Monday afternoon.
The Illinois State Police (ISP) and Northbrook Fire Department responded around 12:30 p.m. Monday to Interstate 94, also known as the Edens Expressway, at the 30-mile marker for a vehicle crash with injuries.
State troopers arrived and found a three-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes near Dundee Road, according to ISP.
Two of the vehicles, which appeared to be passenger cars, left the roadway and sustained heavy damage.
One of the two cars came to rest in the water. The third vehicle, a semi-truck, remained on the interstate.
One occupant was transported by ambulance to Endeavor Health Hospital in Highland Park with critical injuries.
Firefighters had to extricate that victim from his vehicle. He was unresponsive.
The man was pronounced dead in the emergency room, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Banek identified the man on Tuesday as Martin Maldonado-Velazquez, 60, of Waukegan.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital and took possession of Maldonado-Velazquez.
An autopsy performed on Tuesday showed Maldonado-Velazquez died from blunt force injuries as a result of the crash.
Troopers and IDOT shut down the southbound lanes on Interstate 94.
ISP said the southbound ramp from Dundee Road to Interstate 94 was closed and the southbound ramp from Lake Cook Road to Route 41 was also closed.
All lanes were reopened around 5:40 p.m., more than five hours after the crash occurred.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police, which said the investigation remains active and no further information was available.