Police: Fleeing driver caused 2nd crash that sent 5 to hospital

Five people were hospitalized Tuesday morning in Deer Park when a driver who was attempting to flee from another accident hit a car in oncoming traffic, officials said.

The Long Grove Fire Protection District and Lake County sheriff's deputies responded at 11:15 a.m. for the two-vehicle crash on Lake-Cook Road west of Rand Road, according to a news release.

Police said the preliminary investigation shows that the driver of a 2006 Lexus, a 28-year-old Northfield man, was fleeing the scene of a previous crash on eastbound Lake-Cook Road when his vehicle crossed the centerline and struck a westbound 2007 Honda driven by a 36-year-old Crystal Lake man. The man's wife and two children, ages 3 and 6, were in the Honda at the time of the crash.

Both drivers had to be cut from their vehicles, according to a news release from Long Grove.

The driver of the Lexus was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. A release from the Lake County sheriff's office said his condition was unknown as of Tuesday night.

The four people in the Honda were taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Lake Barrington with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Responders from Lake Zurich, Palatine, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Deerfield, Prospect Heights, Wheeling and the Lake County sheriff's office assisted with the accident.

The crash is still under investigation and being handled by the Lake County sheriff's office, which added in a news release that any charges will be reviewed with the Lake County state's attorney's office once the investigation is completed.