Early morning crash injures two, closes Grand Avenue

Two people were hospitalized Thursday when their vehicles hit head-on in Lindenhurst.

Lindenhurst police said the crash happened around 5:30 a.m. on the 2400 block of Grand Avenue, near Deerpath Drive.

Richard S. Barden, 17, of Lindenhurst crossed the double yellow line and crashed his Acura sedan into a Chevrolet S10 pickup truck, said Lindenhurst Cmdr. Kevin Klahs.

Barden was transported by ambulance to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

The pickup truck driver, Raul Lopez, 51, of Lindenhurst, was taken by helicopter to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Klahs said.

On Thursday afternoon, Lopez was reportedly in the intensive care unit.

The two men were the sole occupants of their vehicles.

Klahs said the case will be referred to the state's attorney's office for possible charges against Barden.

The crash caused Grand Avenue to be closed from about 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday and was the first of many car accidents Thursday morning in Lindenhurst.

Klahs said there was another injury accident at Grand Avenue and Granada Boulevard and two rear-end crashes on Sand Lake Road, where traffic was being diverted off of Grand.