Crash involving stolen car kills two in Campton Hills
A Wisconsin woman driving a stolen vehicle caused two crashes in the Western suburbs Saturday night, including a multiple-car pileup that killed her and another driver, officials said.
Campton Hills police responded at 8:46 p.m. to a four-car crash at 42W761 Route 38 determined that a vehicle driven by Jennifer Liston, 30, of Madison, Wis., was traveling at a high rate of speed when the collision occurred.
Liston was driving in the westbound lane but passing numerous vehicles in the eastbound lane when the vehicle she was driving collided head-on with a car driven by Zachary Bingham, 18, of Maple Park, according to a release from the Campton Hills Police Department.
The 2003 Nissan Altima that Liston was driving continued west and rear-ended another car, which then was pushed into the eastbound lane, where it struck a fourth vehicle. Hoffman described the scene as chaotic, but said he believed everyone involved was wearing their seat belts.
Liston was pronounced dead at the scene by Elburn and Countryside Fire Department responders.
Bingham was transported to Delnor Hospital in Geneva and later flown to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove where he was pronounced dead, according to the release.
Two others in the crash, including a passenger in Bingham's car, were transported to local hospitals with nonlife-threatening injuries. Liston was involved in a minor hit-and-run crash in Geneva earlier Saturday evening, according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office.
A Kane County Sheriff's deputy spotted Liston's car traveling west on Route 38 near Bricker Road and tried to pull her over, but Liston reportedly fled at a high rate of speed. The officer tried to chase her but stopped the pursuit because it was too dangerous, according to police. At one point Liston was said to have been driving faster than 100 mph, said Campton Hills Police Chief Dan Hoffman.
The car Liston was driving was reported stolen from Wheaton, and Liston was driving on a suspended driver's license, police said.
It has not been determined if alcohol played a role in the crash. The Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team continues to investigate.
According to a May article from the student newspaper at Kaneland High School, where Bingham graduated from in 2012, he had planned to join the Air Force after graduation.
Bingham was reportedly in the car with his girlfriend, who suffered minor injuries, and his dog, who was killed in the crash, Hoffman said.
“It was tragic, senseless and extremely unfortunate,” he said.
Hoffman said there had not been a fatal accident in Campton Hills in 2010 or 2011, but this weekend's accident is the third deadly crash of 2012, bringing the third and fourth deaths to the small town.
With Liston's dangerous driving on a busy road at that time of night, Hoffman said it could have been an even more tragic night.
“This could have been even worse, we're just fortunate more people weren't seriously injured or killed,” Hoffman said.