Man burned in I-355 crash

A three-vehicle crash at roughly 3:25 p.m. Wednesday on southbound Interstate 355 at the 63rd Street overpass sent six people to the hospital, including one severely burned victim, authorities said. A 2006 Toyota pickup truck struck two sport utility vehicles one after the other, sending the first SUV smashing into the median wall. That Suzuki SUV burst into flames and the driver suffered severe burns but managed to get out of the vehicle himself, said an official with the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District. He was taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer's Grove and later airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, authorities said. The pickup truck driver and the driver and passengers of the second SUV, a mother and her three children, also were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital where they were treated and released. The pickup truck driver, Thomas Courtney, 42, of 132 Lilac, Bolingbrook was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. All traffic going northbound and southbound on the tollway was stopped during the rescue. The police investigation is ongoing.