A woman was seriously injured and had to be extricated by firefighters after a car struck a semi-truck and went partially underneath the trailer on Interstate 94 in Wadsworth Saturday evening.
The Newport Fire Protection District and Illinois State Police responded around 5:02 p.m. Saturday to Interstate 94 south of Russell Road in Wadsworth for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Fire crews arrived first and found a car that had driven underneath the rear of a semi-tractor-trailer truck.
The crash occurred in the eastbound, also known as southbound, lanes of Interstate 94 at the 1.25 mile post near the Route 41 split.
Illinois State Police said the crash involved three vehicles, including a gray Dodge Challenger, a Chevrolet Equinox and a blue Kenworth semi-truck that was hauling a semi-trailer.
The Dodge went partially underneath the rear of the semi-trailer and left a woman trapped inside the car, according to fire department radio traffic.
Firefighters had to extricate the woman, who was a passenger in the Dodge. Troopers reported she was unconscious at the scene.
Paramedics transported her to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with serious, life-threatening injuries, ISP said.
The driver of the Dodge was also transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center. He suffered minor injuries.
The Bristol and Pleasant Prairie fire departments also assisted the Newport Fire Protection District at the scene.
Troopers shut down multiple lanes of traffic and diverted motorists to Route 41. Heavy traffic backups were reported into Wisconsin due to the incident, bystanders said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police.