Woman dies in I-90 crash near Marengo

Police believe a 26-year-old woman killed in a tollway crash near Marengo late Thursday was "distracted by something" when her car collided with a semi truck.

Rocio Tirado, of the 500 block of Warren Avenue in Belvidere, died almost immediately when the Dodge Charger she was driving on I-90 rear-ended a semi, said Master Sgt. Thomas Gartner of the Illinois State Police.

The crash occurred at 11:30 p.m. Thursday when Tirado was driving west on I-90 at a high rate of speed, police said.

She apparently did not see the approaching construction zone about a mile west of the Marengo toll plaza where she hit the truck. Traffic in front of her was almost at a standstill as the expressway was reduced to one lane, Gartner said.

Tirado veered to the right in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the truck. After the collision, her car rolled into the right lane onto its roof.

Part of Tirado's door was ripped off and, despite her wearing a seat belt, she was partially ejected, Gartner said. Hampshire paramedics arrived to find she already had died.

"We don't believe alcohol was involved. We believe the driver was distracted by something because there were no skid marks," Gartner said.

The expressway was closed for about an hour and a half. The driver of the semi was not injured.