Investigators suspect impairment was a factor after a woman was critically injured and trapped following a high-speed crash that left her car lodged underneath a semi-truck in North Chicago.
The North Chicago Fire Department and North Chicago Police Department responded around 8:05 p.m. Friday to the area of Route 137 and Route 41 in North Chicago for a vehicle crash with injuries.
North Chicago Fire Chief John Umek said fire crews arrived to find a two-vehicle crash.
The collision occurred in the northbound lanes of Route 41 just south of Route 137.
Umek said a semi-tractor-trailer truck was stopped at the light when a passenger car crashed into the rear trailer of the truck.
The car, a Nissan Altima, went partially underneath the trailer and sustained significant damage, Umek said. The Nissan also caught fire.
Umek said the driver, who was the sole occupant of the Nissan, was heavily trapped inside the car.
North Chicago Assistant Police Chief Gary Lunn said the driver, a 23-year-old woman, was unresponsive at the scene.
Multiple fire departments were called to the scene to conduct extrication operations, which took approximately 25 minutes.
Paramedics transported the woman to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in critical condition, Umek said.
The driver remained alive as of Monday and Lunn said she was in the intensive care unit.
The adult male driver of the semi-truck was uninjured. Other fire departments covered calls in North Chicago during the incident.
Northbound Route 41 was shut down from Route 60 in Lake Forest to Route 137 in North Chicago for the crash investigation.
Southbound Route 41 was also shut down at Route 137.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) responded to conduct a crash reconstruction and investigation.
Lunn described the crash as a high-speed collision and said the driver of the Nissan was at fault as the semi-truck was stopped at the time.
Lunn declined to say whether alcohol or drugs were being considered as contributing factors.
MCAT investigators suspect impairment with the driver of the Nissan. The driver of the semi-truck was cooperative with investigators.