Man hospitalized after SUV crashes into Wheeling retention pond

A man was hospitalized after a medical or equipment malfunction Monday in Wheeling that ended with his vehicle partially submerged in a retention pond, fire officials said.

The crash happened at about 5:20 p.m. in a parking lot on the northwest corner of Wolf and Palatine roads, Wheeling Battalion Chief Steve Kosick said.

A Lexus SUV driven by an 80-year-old man struck several vehicles in the parking lot before going over an embankment and into a retention basin, Kosick said.

Firefighters secured the vehicle so it wouldn't move any further into the pond and removed the driver, who was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in an unknown condition.

Nobody else was injured. The retention pond only held about two feet of water at the time of the crash, Kosick said. "The front bumper was submerged. The retention pond only had about two feet of water in it. It does fluctuate sometimes, but currently only had two feet," Kosick said. "The passenger compartment wasn't submerged.

Wheeling police continue to investigate whether the series of crashes were caused by a medical emergency or possibly some sort of equipment failure with the vehicle, he said.