Five people were taken to the hospital after a man said he fell asleep or had a medical episode before slamming his SUV into the back of three other cars stopped at a busy intersection in Wadsworth Monday evening.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Newport Township Fire Protection District responded around 5:05 p.m. Monday to Route 41 and Route 173 in Wadsworth for reports of a multiple-vehicle crash with injuries.
Deputies and firefighter/medics arrived to find four vehicles – a Nissan Murano SUV, Volkswagen Jetta sedan, Volkswagen Passat sedan and Subaru Outback SUV – involved in the intersection and southwest corner near the Citgo gas station.
Several people were injured, and additional ambulances responded from the Antioch, Beach Park, Bristol, Pleasant Prairie, Gurnee and Zion fire departments.
A preliminary investigation shows the Nissan Murano SUV – driven by a 54-year-old Brookfield, Wisconsin man – was traveling eastbound on Route 173 approaching Route 41, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said.
The rest of the cars were facing eastbound on Route 173 and stopped at the red light at Route 41.
“For a reason that isn’t clear, the driver of the Nissan failed to slow down and slammed into the back of the Volkswagen Jetta, which in turn struck the Volkswagen Passat and Subaru Outback,” Covelli said.
“The driver of the Nissan told deputies that he did not remember what happened and said he either had a medical episode or fell asleep while driving,” Covelli added.
The collisions caused non-life-threatening injuries to the man driving the Nissan, the 26-year-old Antioch woman driving the Volkswagen Jetta along with her front-seat passenger, and the 44-year-old Gurnee woman driving the Volkswagen Passat along with her front-seat passenger.
The driver and front-seat passenger of the Subaru were not injured, Covelli said.
The ambulances transported the five injured to area hospitals for treatment.
The crash caused road signs, poles and utility boxes to be damaged and knocked down near the parking lot of the Citgo.
Crews with Lake County Towing worked to remove the vehicles involved and clean up the scene.
The southbound lanes of Route 41 approaching Route 173 and the eastbound lanes of Route 173 at North Mill Creek Road were shut down while crews were tending to the crash.
Traffic was heavily delayed for vehicles going southbound on Route 41 from the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
The crash was cleaned up, and the roadways were reopened at around 6:10 p.m.
Deputies cited the man driving the Nissan for failing to reduce his speed to avoid a crash.
The man has a Georgia driver’s license, and the crash was reported to the Illinois Secretary of State and the Georgia Department of Driver Services for review of his licensing status due to the circumstances of the crash, Covelli added.