Elgin man hurt in 3-vehicle crash in Crystal Lake

A 61-year-old Elgin man was hospitalized Thursday morning after a three-vehicle pileup in Crystal Lake left his car perched precariously atop a steep embankment.

Sam Sanavongsay was transferred to Centegra Hospital-McHenry with what police described as nonlife-threatening injuries suffered in the crash, which occurred just before 6:30 a.m. in the intersection of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road.

The crash happened, police said, when a 2001 Jeep Cherokee driven northbound on Route 31 by Forrest Lang, 60, of Chicago, slowed the vehicle as the light changed at the Three Oaks crossing.

His SUV, police said, was struck from behind by a 2007 Nissan Altima driven by Matthew Jones, 30, of Hoffman Estates. The collision forced Lang's SUV into another lane, where it struck the driver's side of Sanavongsay's 1997 Toyota Avalon, pushing it through the intersection and onto the embankment.

Rescue workers stabilized the vehicle to prevent it from tipping over then removed Sanavongsay and took him to the hospital.

Jones was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, police said.