Vernon Hills man among those injured in 9-vehicle crash

A Vernon Hills man was among those injured in a fatal nine-vehicle pileup Saturday in Chicago's South Loop, state police said.

One person died and several more were injured when the driver of a white Mercedes had a medical emergency and caused an "extensive" chain-reaction crash on eastbound I-290 at Wells Street, according to Illinois State Police.

Anton V. Shapovalov, 41, of Vernon Hills was driving one of the vehicles involved, authorities said.

The Mercedes was traveling at a high speed about 4:30 p.m. when it struck a gray Cadillac truck that was stopped in traffic. The driver of the Mercedes was unable to regain control and hit several other stopped vehicles, police said.

The driver of the Cadillac, 35-year-old Darius Sconiers of Bellwood, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Several others, including the driver and passenger of the Mercedes, were also taken to area hospitals.

Congress Parkway was closed in both directions until about 11 p.m. Saturday while authorities investigated.