Not so nifty: Long Grove bridge hit for 50th time since reopening

An inauspicious milestone was reached Saturday when Long Grove's iconic covered bridge was hit by a vehicle for the 50th time since it reopened in 2020.

Village Manager Greg Jackson confirmed the crash, saying he received notification shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday. While he's still awaiting full details, reports indicate the vehicle was a bus belonging to M & M Buses, a Chicago-based charter bus service.

The bus sustained damage to its back end and an air-conditioning unit peeled off its roof, video taken at the scene shows. A Lake County sheriff's patrol vehicle stopped the bus in front of the Chatterbox, 330 Old McHenry Road, which shared video of the scene on its Facebook page.

The tongue-in-cheek Facebook post noted that customers visiting the Chatterbox the rest of the day would get a 10% discount "if you say number 50."

It was the third time this month a vehicle has slammed into the bridge.

On June 2, a 2007 Mitsubishi Fuso driven by a 66-year-old Chicago man punctured the facade in the usually sturdy wooden bridge. The driver of the truck, Wieslaw Nosek, was cited, officials said.

Three days later, the bridge was struck by a 2015 Mercedes 3500 being driven by a 24-year-old Elgin man. The driver, Benjamin Burge, also was cited, Jackson said.

Prior to June, the most recent crash was on April 15.