Teen dies in wrong-way crash on Edens Expressway

An 18-year-old man was killed late Wednesday night after causing a multi-vehicle accident when he entered the Edens Expressway near Skokie heading in the wrong direction, authorities said Thursday.

Michael J. Adam, 18, of Chicago, crashed after heading southbound in the northbound lanes of the Edens Expressway, said Master Sgt. Todd Borisy of the Illinois State Police.

Borisy said Adam entered the expressway at Touhy Avenue and traveled about a mile before crashing head-on with an unidentified female driver from Wilmette at about 11:30 p.m.

Adam then ricocheted off that car and into a third car, driven by an unidentified woman from Niles, Borisy said.

The first woman was taken from the scene to a nearby hospital with a broken tail bone. The Niles woman was not injured and refused treatment at the scene.

The northbound lanes of the Edens was closed for about two hours while authorities investigated the three-car accident.

Borisy said that shortly before the crash, police received a half-dozen phone calls from motorists reporting the driver heading in the wrong direction.

"He crashed about a minute later," he said.

Borisy said the accident remains under investigation, and it remains unclear how the driver wound up in the wrong lanes. He added alcohol does not seem to be a contributing factor.