A child suffered life-threatening injuries after he was involved in a single-vehicle crash that resulted in his car rolling over, causing Route 41 to be shut down for hours in Lake Bluff.
The Lake Bluff Fire Department, Lake Forest Fire Department, Libertyville Fire Department and Lake Bluff Police Department responded around 6:28 p.m. Friday to the area of Route 41 and Route 176 for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Fire crews arrived and reported a single-vehicle crash with heavy damage along the frontage road.
Lake Bluff Deputy Police Chief Erik Gehrke said an investigation showed a car was traveling northbound on Route 41, also known as Skokie Highway, passing Route 176.
The car, driven by a male juvenile, struck the center median and then left the highway on the east side and rolled over into a parking lot.
The car came to rest upright just north of Washington Street after striking a concrete barricade and road sign, Gehrke said.
An initial report indicated the driver may have been ejected from the car.
Gehrke said it is unknown whether the boy, whose age was not released, was ejected or exited on his own.
He was already outside the car when others arrived on the scene. There were no passengers inside the vehicle.
Paramedics transported him to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with extensive, life-threatening injuries, Gehrke said. He remains hospitalized as of Wednesday.
Northbound Route 41 was shut down from Route 60 to the crash scene north of Route 176 for approximately four hours.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) was activated to respond and conduct a crash investigation and reconstruction.
The driver has been unable to remember the events of the crash and investigators are confident only one car was involved.
Gehrke said investigators are working to determine what led to the crash and as well as obtain surveillance video from nearby businesses.