51-year-old Schaumburg man killed in crash near Woodfield Mall after running red light
A 51-year-old Schaumburg man killed in a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon near Woodfield Mall drove through a red light just before the deadly collision, police said Tuesday.
Cary Aiello was driving a black Ford Mustang east on Woodfield Road at about 1:13 p.m. when it passed through the red signal at West Frontage Road and collided with a black Jeep Cherokee traveling south through the intersection, according to police.
Aiello was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death to be accidental, the result of multiple injuries from his automobile striking an SUV.
The Jeep's driver, a 38-year-old Bartlett man, remained hospitalized Tuesday and was stable, police said.
There were no passengers in either vehicle.
Chuck Cruise of Wheaton, who was driving just behind and in the lane left of the Jeep Cherokee, said he had to brake quickly to avoid both vehicles when they entered his lane. He observed the Mustang go through the red light at what seemed to him a high speed.
"They just smashed into each other and started spinning as they pushed into my lane," Cruise said. "This Mustang came out of nowhere, seemingly."
Cruise pulled over and immediately went to Aiello's vehicle to find him slumped across the front seat surrounded by the deployed air bag. He was unable to get a response from Aiello and couldn't get him out through either the caved-in driver's-side door or the locked passenger door.
The Bartlett man then got out of his Jeep, bleeding profusely from his head, Cruise said. He appeared confused and began yelling at Cruise in the mistaken belief that he'd been driving the Mustang.
"He was complaining that he was very hurt and needed help," Cruise said.
Though most other drivers slowed down to look and then accelerated away, Cruise said he saw two young men in another stopped car calling 911. He said he helped the injured Bartlett man into the passenger seat of his car and tried to calm him down as they waited for police and paramedics to arrive.
The hurt man was taken by ambulance to Amita Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.
Schaumburg police continue to investigate the crash with the assistance of the Major Case Assistance Team Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team.