The coroner has released the identity of a man who died after a van of people traveling to work in Highland Park slammed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 94 near Northbrook Wednesday morning.
An autopsy performed Thursday showed that Jianzhong Tan, 60, of Chicago, died as a result of blunt force injuries from a vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Illinois State Police (ISP) and Northbrook Fire Department responded around 10:42 a.m. Wednesday to Interstate 94 north of Dundee Road in Northbrook for a report of a vehicle crash with multiple injuries.
Fire crews arrived and found a single-vehicle crash involving a Toyota Sienna minivan with significant damage in a construction zone.
The Toyota was traveling northbound on Interstate 94 when it struck a construction cone.
ISP said the driver lost control of the vehicle and the Toyota hit a concrete median.
Firefighters had to extricate one of the occupants from the vehicle. Multiple ambulances were also dispatched.
ISP said the driver and four passengers, including Tan, were transported by ambulances to the hospital for treatment. Tan died after arriving at the hospital.
A source told Lake and McHenry County Scanner the group was on the way to work at a restaurant in Highland Park at the time of the crash.
The crash caused a heavy traffic backup as the Illinois State Police conducted an investigation and crash reconstruction.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Tan was a backseat passenger in the Toyota.
Tan died in the emergency room at Endeavor Health Hospital in Highland Park.
ISP said all northbound lanes of Interstate 94 were shut down during the crash investigation before being reopened over seven hours later around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.