Two dead after trucks, SUV collide on I-94 near Deerfield

Two people were killed Tuesday morning and three others were injured when a Jeep Cherokee collided with two semitrailer trucks on the Tri-State Tollway near Deerfield, authorities said.

The crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. on the southbound side of I-94, south of Half Day Road, Illinois State Police said.

The Jeep struck the side of one truck, spun and hit the other truck, police said.

A man and a woman inside the Jeep were pronounced dead on the scene. One was the driver and another was a front-seat passenger, police said.

Another passenger in the Jeep was cut free by firefighters and was flown by helicopter to an undisclosed hospital in critical condition, said Deputy Chief Ray Larson of the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District.

The men driving the two semitrailer trucks were taken to Highland Park Hospital and are expected to survive, Larson said.

Southbound lanes were blocked for more than four hours because of the crash, finally reopening about 3 p.m., police said. Northbound lanes were temporarily blocked, too, so a medical helicopter could land on the other side of the highway to pick up a patient.

The Northbrook Fire Department assisted on the scene.

Autopsies are scheduled for Wednesday, Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said.