Sept. 13--A wrong-way driver caused a three-car crash on the Tri-State Tollway early Sunday that left an off-duty Chicago Ridge police officer dead, according to state police.
About 3:45 a.m. a motorist called 911 to report seeing someone driving a car the wrong way near the Cermak Road Toll Plaza near Hillside, said Illinois State Police Tollway District Sgt. Nathan Anderson.
"About a minute later, the next thing you know we got a crash," said Anderson.
According to police, a female driver was driving her 1998 Toyota Camry southbound in the northbound lanes when she struck a 2002 dodge Neon head on as it traveled the correct way, according to state police
A 27-year-old passenger in the Neon which was traveling the correct way was pronounced dead on the scene at 3:45 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. The man's name was being withheld pending notification of his family.
According to Illinois State Police the deceased man was an off-duty Chicago Ridge police officer.
The wrong way drive, "lit up"the phones when about 100 calls came in about it, Anderson said.
Two cars and a pickup truck were involved.
After the Camry struck the Neon, the Camry spun around and struck the 2013 Chevrolet pickup truck which was the third vehicle. The person in the pickup truck was not injured. The driver of the Camry was taken to Elmhurst hospital where her injuries were not considered life threatening.
The wreck caused the closure of the I-PASS lanes at the toll plaza, leaving only the cash lanes open as of about 7 a.m. Sunday.
The plaza structure did not appear to be damaged, said Anderson, who said it was not the only wrong-way driver of their shift.
Saturday night, a trooper who was "sitting in a crossover" in the middle of I-90 monitoring traffic saw a vehicle that was also going the wrong way.
"He got it stopped right away," said Anderson of the earlier incident, which did not cause a crash.
The investigation is continuing, police said.
