Girl killed, 7 hurt in Tri-State Tollway crash
A 14-year-old girl was killed and seven others injured when an SUV blew a tire and crashed on the Tri-State Tollway near Half Day Road, authorities said Monday.
The driver of the 2002 Ford Explorer was heading east on I-94 about 10:15 p.m. Sunday when the tire blew, sending the SUV into a guardrail, Illinois State Police officials said.
Three people - including the girl - were ejected from the vehicle, authorities said. The girl was then struck by a semi-truck and killed, authorities said.
Orlando Portillo from the Lake County Coroner's Office said the girl is a Chicago resident. He said he would not release the girl's identity because she is a minor.
The SUV was heading home from Six Flags Great America in Gurnee when the accident took place, officials said.
Seven people were taken to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for nonlife threatening injuries, Lake Forest Fire Department officials said in a news release. One person was not injured and signed a release, officials said in the release.
Illinois State Police shut down all eastbound lanes on the Tri-State for about three hours while the crash was investigated.
The crash remains under investigation.