Abandoned car found in pond near Hanover Park, state police locate driver

When firefighters found a car floating in a retention pond near the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway Sunday morning, they feared the worst.

The reality proved far less alarming.

Roselle and Hanover Park firefighters responding about 6:30 a.m. to the scene of an SUV in the shallow pond along the eastbound side of the expressway near Gary Avenue found the vehicle unoccupied and its driver nowhere in sight. The SUV's front end was badly damaged, its windshield shattered and the frame around it bent.

Illinois State Police eventually tracked down the uninjured driver through a towing company that had been called to pull the vehicle from the water. A state police official said citations were likely to be issued to the driver.

A video of the crash scene was posted Sunday on YouTube.