Massive pileup on Kennedy sends a dozen to hospitals as troopers respond to 80 other crashes on icy expressways

An Illinois State Police trooper investigates the scene of a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals, in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Fifty vehicles crashed in a massive pileup Wednesday morning on an icy Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, sending over a dozen people to hospitals with minor injuries.

All lanes of the expressway were closed for hours, while Illinois State Police reported dozens more than 80 additional crashes on Chicago-area expressways that were “covered in sheets of ice.”

Three semitrailers and 47 other vehicles piled up about 4:40 a.m. on the Kennedy in the inbound lanes near North Avenue, state police said.

S & T Automotive Towing and Repair workers tow a car from the scene of a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals, in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.

Fourteen people were taken to St. Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Chicago Fire Department. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Thirty-two other people involved in the crash declined to be taken to hospitals.

“Numerous accidents still [being] reported due to low traction around the city,” the fire department said Wednesday morning on Twitter. “Do not use Kennedy at this time. Be aware of low traction on all expressways and some surface streets.”

State police haven’t said what caused the crash, but said weather conditions were a contributing factor.

State troopers responded to 85 other crashes Wednesday morning on Cook County expressways, state police said. Sixty-five of those crashes had no injuries, while the other 18 left people with minor injuries.

In one series of crashes, state police said at least 11 traffic crashes were reported after 4 a.m. on I-190 near O’Hare Airport. All westbound lanes were shut down for two hours, and one person was injured. State police blamed weather conditions for those crashes, too.

The Illinois Department of Public Transportation, which oversees the deployment of salt trucks on Chicago expressways, did not immediately have a comment when asked how many trucks were in service at the time of the pileup.

Light snow began falling in Chicago after midnight, with a total nighttime accumulation of less than a half inch, according to the National Weather Service. Along with snow, temperatures dropped into the 20s and 30s overnight, contributing to slick roads and icy conditions.

All inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway were closed to traffic near Armitage Avenue after a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles sent more than a dozen people to hospitals in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.

Illinois State Police investigate the scene of a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals, in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.

An Illinois State Police trooper investigates the scene of a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals, in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.

All inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway were closed to traffic near Armitage Avenue after a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles sent more than a dozen people to hospitals in the inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.

A man talks on his phone on the shoulder of the Kennedy Expressway after a massive pileup crash involving nearly 60 vehicles sent more than a dozen people to hospitals in the inbound lanes of the expressway near North Avenue, Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020.