The coroner has released the identities of a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s who both died when their car collided head-on into a semi-truck on Route 173 in Wadsworth Thursday.
An autopsy performed Thursday showed that Kelly Wooten, 51, of Stoughton, Wisconsin, and Jacklyn Bradley, 45, of Stoughton, Wisconsin, died as a result of blunt force injuries from a vehicle crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Newport Township Fire Protection District responded around 7:50 a.m. Thursday to the 15000 block of Route 173 in Wadsworth, which is between North Kilbourne Road and Route 41, for reports of a head-on crash with injuries.
Firefighter/paramedics arrived on scene first and found three vehicles involved with heavy damage.
The paramedics determined both the driver and passenger of one of the vehicles involved, a 2009 Acura sedan, were dead, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.
A preliminary investigation shows the Acura, which was driven by Wooten, was traveling eastbound on Route 173.
“Witnesses reported the driver appeared to be having difficulty maintaining his lane and, as he continued eastbound, drifted into the path of a westbound Freightliner semi-truck,” Covelli said.
The semi-truck, which was hauling a trailer loaded with approximately 35,000 pounds, was driven by a 25-year-old man from Evergreen Park.
Both the Freightliner and Acura crashed head-on, Covelli said.
A Honda minivan – driven by a 54-year-old woman from Salem, Wisconsin – was traveling eastbound and crashed into the Acura after the initial impact between the Acura and semi-truck.
Wooten and Bradley, who was his passenger, were both pronounced dead at the scene, Covelli said.
The woman driving the Honda was transported to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The man driving the Freightliner was not injured and he is cooperating with investigators, Covelli added.
The Zion Fire/Rescue Department assisted at the scene.
A man on Facebook said that his friend witnessed the Acura “weaving in and out of lanes for miles.”
“Went into oncoming traffic at the wrong time in front of the semi,” the man said. “Said it was the craziest thing he’s ever seen.”
The Lake County Coroner’s Office was notified and responded to the scene.
An Illinois State Police commercial motor vehicle officer also responded to the scene because the crash involved a commercial vehicle.
The crash led to Route 173 being shut down for several hours between Route 41 and North Kilbourne Road while accident investigators conducted a reconstruction and investigation.
The roadway was reopened later Thursday afternoon.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.