Children were among eight people transported to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash that resulted in heavy damage and shut down part of Interstate 94 near Bannockburn Saturday morning.
The Illinois State Police (ISP) and Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District responded around 8:50 a.m. Saturday to Interstate 94 near Duffy Lane in Bannockburn for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Emergency crews initially arrived and reported six vehicles involved with heavy to severe damage to at least one of the vehicles.
Fire officials said it was later determined to be a two-vehicle crash, which occurred in the eastbound — also known as southbound — lanes south of Duffy Lane near the 23 mile post.
ISP said a Ford SUV and a Jaguar SUV were involved but they did not say what led to the crash.
Fire officials said one of the vehicles had a family of eight inside it.
Three ambulances, including one from the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, were dispatched to the scene.
All eight family members were transported to Endeavor Health Hospital in Highland Park to be kept together. Fire officials declined to say how many of them were children.
ISP said the eight transported suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
A trooper at the scene reported one of them suffered serious injuries but fire officials said all injuries were believed to be minor.
The driver and sole occupant of the second vehicle involved reported no injuries and was not transported to the hospital.
No one was trapped in the vehicles and everyone was out by the time the fire department arrived, fire officials said.
The two right lanes were shut down due to the crash, fire officials said. ISP said all lanes were reopened by 10:30 a.m.
Initial reports indicated one of the cars may have rolled over but fire officials said both vehicles were upright and it did not appear either had rolled over during the collision.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police, which said further information is not yet available.