A woman is dead and a second woman was injured after a crash involving an SUV and a semi-tractor-trailer truck shut down multiple lanes of Interstate 94 near Gurnee Saturday morning.
The Gurnee Fire Department, Libertyville Fire Department and Illinois State Police responded around 5:07 a.m. Saturday to Interstate 94 between Route 120 and O’Plaine Road near Gurnee for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
A 911 caller reported a car was sideways in lanes 1 and 2 with a victim inside that had a possible broken neck, according to police radio traffic.
The car, a Mazda SUV, was heavily damaged and the second vehicle involved, a semi-tractor-trailer truck, was pulled off onto the right shoulder.
Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Steffens said the crash involved the two vehicles and the Mazda sustained heavy damage.
The crash occurred in the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 at the 11.75-mile marker.
Paramedics found two adult females in the Mazda and one adult male in the semi-truck. None of the victims required extrication.
One of the women in the Mazda, who was the passenger, suffered life-threatening injuries and was unconscious, Steffens said.
She was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she was pronounced dead, Steffens and Illinois State Police said.
The driver of the Mazda had no serious complaints regarding injuries but was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for evaluation.
The driver of the semi-truck was uninjured and signed a medical release at the scene declining transport to the hospital.
Illinois State Police said lanes 1, 2 and 3 remained shut down for the investigation for hours until being reopened around 10:45 a.m.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital to take possession of the deceased victim for an autopsy. Her identity has not been released.
State police say the cause of the crash remains under active investigation and further information was not immediately available.