Community Corner

Update: 68-Year-Old Woman Killed in Chain-Reaction Crash on I-55

State police report a semi ran into a car stalled in construction traffic, causing a huge pileup on Wednesday afternoon just north of River Road.

Harriette E. Herrera, 68, of northwest suburban Roselle, was killed in a six-vehicle chain-reaction crash on northbound Interstate-55 near Wilmington on Wednesday afternoon, according to a CBS News Report.

Herrera was driving the first car that was struck by a semi and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report. An unspecified number of other people were hurt in the crash and taken to area hospitals but there conditions were not known, according to the report.

I-55's northbound lanes were closed for almost five hours as state police investigated, according to CBS News.
This was the original post (filed at 6 p.m. Wednesday)
A car driver was airlifted to a hospital and traffic was being rerouted following a chain-reaction crash on northbound Interstate-55—just north of River Road in the Wilmington area—on Wednesday afternoon.

"It appears cars were stopped because of construction (on the Des Plaines River bridge) and it appears a semi rear-ended one of the cars, causing a chain-reaction crash," said Sgt. Jim Powell of the Illinois State Police's District 5 headquarters. "Three semis were involved and three passenger cars."

Powell said the driver of one of the passenger cars was airlifted from the scene. He was unaware of any other injuries.

Powell said traffic on northbound I-55 was being rerouted to onto River Road and then onto Illinois Route 53. He was uncertain when northbound lanes on I-55 would re-open.

He said Illinois State Police and Wilmington firefighters were the first to arrive on the scene of the accident which occurred at about 4:45 p.m.


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