|
|
 |
| The crash scene. (CBS Photo) |
Posted: Thursday, 25 June 2009 8:05AM
Off-duty State Police trooper seriously hurt in wreck
|
CHICAGO (CBS/STNG) - A high-speed crash left one, possibly two, people injured and damaged a fire hydrant, a light pole and four vehicles in the Northwest Side's Mayfair neighborhood.
Injured in the crash was an off-duty Illinois State Trooper.
Illinois State Police District Chicago Sgt. Michelle Tufenkjian said the off-duty male trooper was a passenger inside one of the vehiclese, which may have caught fire after it hit the pole.
Chicago and Illinois State Police are investigating the wreck on Elston Avenue just south of Lawrence Avenue. The crash happened at about 5:15 a.m., according to an Albany Park District police officer.
A car was headed southeast on Elston Avenue when its driver spun out of control and crossed over to the northbound lanes.
The car sideswiped a building, sheared off a fire hydrant and took down a light pole and wires before crashing into a van. The van crashed backward into the car parked behind it, and that car in turn crashed into the next car behind it. The car that started the crash then burst into flames.
The extent of the driver's injuries and why the driver lost control was not immediately learned.
At 7:10 a.m., the trooper’s supervisor was en route to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where the trooper was initially taken in serious condition, Tufenkjian said.
The trooper is assigned to District Chicago, Tufenkjian said.
A law enforcement source said the city's water department was also notified because the accident caused the head of a fire hydrant to be sheared off.
|
Copyright MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
|
|
|
|