UPS driver identified as victim in fatal I-294 crash

A UPS driver from Wisconsin died early Tuesday after the truck he was driving slammed into a median on the Tri-State Tollway near Western Springs, authorities said.

Glenn Dantuma, 61, of Hartford, was identified as the victim by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Illinois State Police said Dantuma's truck, pulling two large trailers, was heading south about 2:30 a.m. when he lost control and the truck ran off the road to the left, striking the concrete median wall near 47th Street.

The impact caused one of the two trailers to overturn on to the northbound side of I-294 at milepost 26.5, state police said.

Hinsdale Fire Chief Rick Ronovsky said the victim was on the roadway when firefighters and paramedics arrived. Dantuma was transported to LaGrange Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, and he was officially pronounced dead at the hospital.

Ronovsky said it appeared the truck hit the bridge abutment at 47th Street. Contents of the two trailers - mostly boxes and packages - were scattered across the road. Crews worked for the next several hours to clear the wreckage, but the cleanup and investigation extended into the morning rush hour, causing traffic backups of at least 15 miles.

Two left lanes had been blocked on both the northbound and southbound sides of Interstate 294 during the accident investigation, but by 9 a.m., all lanes had reopened.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation.