Crash on Route 53 injures three

Three people were injured in a three-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon on Route 53 at Lake-Cook Road near Palatine.

Illinois State Police officials said the crash occurred just before 5 p.m. in the northbound lanes. Three people were transported to area hospitals for nonlife threatening injuries.

The crash closed all lanes of traffic for 40 minutes while cars and debris were removed from the road, state police said.

Minutes before that crash, three other vehicles were involved in a minor crash about a quarter mile to the south of Lake-Cook Road on Route 53. No one was injured in that crash, authorities said.

There is no word on any citations being issued to drivers involved in the crashes.