Route 60 near Mundelein back open after crash

A stretch of Route 60 near Mundelein was shut down in both directions for several hours Thursday afternoon after a car crash broke a utility pole and sent it falling into the roadway.

No one was injured in the crash, which occurred about 1:40 p.m. on Route 60 just south of Fremont Center Road.

A 74-year-old Palatine man driving a 2016 Infiniti sedan was turning onto Route 60 from Fremont Center Road when he drove into a ditch and hit a guide wire attached to a utility pole, Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.

The pole broke, and part of it came down on the roadway.

"There were live wires very close to the ground," Covelli said. "It was initially a very dangerous situation."

The motorist told police he drove into the ditch because he had misjudged the distance of an approaching vehicle and thought going into the ditch would be safer than a collision, Covelli said.

Route 60 was closed between Peterson and Fremont Center roads until late afternoon while utility repairs were completed.