1 killed in funeral procession crash
If you've ever been part of a funeral procession or sat at a traffic light watching one go by, you may have felt a flicker of fear over what could happen if a motorist at an intersection failed to catch the significance of what was happening.
On Monday morning in Elk Grove Village, such a procession ended in the worst possible way. One death turned into two when a pickup truck in the procession ran into a car that had a green light, resulting in the death of an 82-year-old Elk Grove Village woman.
The funeral procession was heading west about 10:30 a.m. from Grove Memorial Chapel on Biesterfield Road traveling through the intersection at Wellington Avenue despite the red light, as such processions do.
June A. Lippert, 79, of Elk Grove Village was driving a 1992 Saturn north on Wellington, approaching Biesterfield, and proceeded into the intersection on the green light, Elk Grove police said.
The car was struck on the passenger's side by a Ford F150 pickup truck driven by a 49-year-old Chicago man.
A passenger in the Saturn, Carol A. Struebing, 82, was taken to Alexian Brothers Medical Center just blocks away, where she was pronounced dead at about 1:25 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Lippert sustained serious injuries, police said, and was still being treated late Monday. The driver of the truck was not treated for any injuries at the scene, police said.
The accident prompted the complete closure of the intersection and an hours-long investigation by police. One westbound lane of Biesterfield reopened at about 1:30 p.m., with north-south traffic opening soon after the vehicles were taken away. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Some towns, Las Vegas being a notable example, don't allow funeral processions because of the accident danger, said Jessica Koth, public relations manager for the National Funeral Directors Association. Most municipalities, however, do allow the processions, though rules regarding them vary from town to town.
The association has published a model statute that most places use, Koth said.
According to that model statute, pedestrians and other drivers should yield the right of way to any vehicle in a funeral procession being led by a funeral escort or lead vehicle. Funeral processions should stop for an approaching emergency vehicle that's given an audible or visible signal, or when a law enforcement officer directs the procession to do so. Vehicles not in the procession should not enter an intersection, even if facing a green light while the procession is going through a red light, according to the recommendations.
Accident: Every municipality has its own procession rules