Squad car involved in triple-injury crash

Three people were injured during the Monday afternoon rush hour in Riverwoods when a Lake County deputy sheriff collided with another vehicle while en route to an emergency call.

Route 22 was closed for nearly four hours, until 8:30 p.m., while authorities reconstructed the accident.

The deputy sheriff was driving west on Route 22 near Elm Street when he hit the front of a car, which then slammed into another car. The squad car's lights and sirens were activated, said Lincolnshire police Cmdr. John Kleffner.

"The roads were very slippery, and it appears the officer was driving under the speed limit," Kleffner said. "All traffic must pull to the right and yield to an emergency vehicle, and that may not have happened here."

The deputy sheriff was transported to Lake Forest Hospital, while the other two drivers were taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Kleffner said all three had "medium injuries," which he described as obvious but not life-threatening.

The Riverwoods Fire Department and Long Grove Police Department assisted the Lincolnshire police, which received more than a dozen calls for cars in ditches along Route 22, Riverwoods and Deerfield roads.