Driver killed, teen injured in Arlington Heights rollover crash

A Des Plaines man was killed and at least one teen was injured Saturday when a speeding car slammed into the side of an SUV Saturday afternoon in Arlington Heights, police said.

According to Arlington Heights police, the crash occurred just before 4:30 p.m. in the intersection of Lake-Cook Road and Bloomington Avenue, in the far northwest section of the village.

Preliminary information indicates a dark gray BMW M340i was traveling above the speed limit eastbound on Lake-Cook Road when it T-boned a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was pulling forward from a stop sign at Bloomington, police said.

The force of the collision caused the Jeep to rollover several times before coming to rest in the westbound parkway of Lake-Cook Road, officials said.

Buffalo Grove paramedics removed Jeep’s driver and immediately began advanced life support treatment. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he died early Sunday morning, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the victim Sunday night as 69-year-old Rafael G. Mercado. An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death is pending.

The BMW’s driver, an 18-year-old Deer Park man, and two teenage passengers were evaluated by paramedics and refused further care. They were picked-up by family and taken for medical evaluation, according to police.

A third teenage passenger was transported by Palatine Fire Department paramedics to a hospital for a non-life-threatening injury, police said.

Arlington Heights police are being assisted by the Major Case Assistance Team — Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction specialized investigative unit, officials said.

Investigators will pursue legal process to access and obtain any electronic data stored within the involved vehicles in an effort to identify relevant contributory factors, according to police.