Black ice being blamed for multiple accidents this morning

Freezing weather overnight and a light dusting of snow caused traffic to pile up for Tuesday morning commuters on most major roadways throughout the Chicago area.

Melted snow and rain from the past two days, coupled with frozen temperatures overnight, left the roadways icy, said Master Sgt. Terrence Murphy of the Illinois State Police.

He said the slick roadways are being blamed for numerous accidents throughout the Chicago area.

Included in that was a four-car accident around 6:30 a.m. that forced westbound Route 53 to be shut down near Thorndale Avenue and Higgins Road.

Another crash also shut down all lanes of traffic on Winfield Road between Mack Road and Roosevelt Road. Authorities said a car hit a utility pole, which fell across the road.

In addition, accidents were reported in Elgin, Algonquin, Barrington and the Round Lake area.

Southbound lanes on Route 25 in Carpentersville were shut down due to a crash, while another accident was reported on Midlothian Road and Ashbrook Drive in Mundelein.