Driver dies in I-94 crash near Green Oaks

A 42-year-old Riverside man was killed after his van crashed into a highway maintenance vehicle on the tollway near Green Oaks Tuesday, according to police.

Robert E. Lancaster was pronounced dead at the scene after crashing into a the vehicle that was at the site of an earlier accident on I-94 just north of Route 176, according to an Illinois State Police spokesman.

Police said Lancaster's full-size Sprinter van struck the back of the highway maintenance vehicle about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in the far left eastbound lane, which had been shut down.

The collision sent the highway maintenance vehicle across three lanes, where it was struck by a semitrailer in the far-right lane, the state police spokesman said.

It is not clear why Lancaster's vehicle was in the closed left lane where a Libertyville firetruck and ambulance were also at the scene of the earlier crash with their lights flashing, police said.

The employee in the maintenance vehicle was treated for injuries sustained in the crash and released, police said.

The crash remains under investigation.