Two critically injured after driver mistakes accelerator for brake pedal in Gurnee

A pair of Gurnee residents suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash Saturday that authorities believe occurred when an 88-year-old driver mistakenly pressed the accelerator of her vehicle instead of the brake.

Authorities say the crash was one of two that occurred in short succession beginning at about 2:15 p.m. at Stearns School Road and Route 41 near Gurnee.

Investigators later determined that a Toyota RAV4, driven by an 88-year-old Gurnee woman, was southbound on Route 41 and attempting to make a right turn onto westbound Stearns School Road at the same time a northbound Kia Forte attempted to turn left onto Stearns School.

The two vehicles turned into each other, causing minor damage, according to Lake County sheriff’s police.

An 89-year-old Gurnee man who was a passenger in the RAV4 told investigators that its driver then pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing it to accelerate at a high speed, sheriff’s police said. The driver lost control and struck a utility pole near the intersection of Stearns School and Fuller roads, authorities said.

Both the driver and passenger of the RAV4 were taken to a hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, officials said. The driver of the Kia, a 20-year-old Richmond woman, was uninjured.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.