For over five hours, both lanes of I-394 were closed as state and local law enforcement officials investigated the incident and tried to figure out what happened. Apparently, for reasons still unclear, the driver of the semi veered into the other lane and struck an SUV head-on. The crash was so hard that it caused the vehicle to burst into flames.
According to Chicago media reports, the end result was that the driver of the SUV was killed. The entire incident took place near south suburban Lynwood. The driver of the truck was not injured and no other cars were involved in the incident. Traffic was re-routed along I-394.
The driver of the car was later identified as 49-year-old Mary Lacy, from Lynwood. She was confirmed as the only occupant of the vehicle.
The flat-bed truck was also severely damaged in the accident. The truck hit the car so hard that the front end of the truck was nearly completely sheered off. Despite this, the driver was uninjured.
The identity of the driver was being withheld by the law enforcement officials. It was confirmed that he was from Valparaiso, Indiana. No information about if he was taken into custody was given out to the media and no information about whether or not any traffic violations were issued was also not revealed.
As of Saturday morning, the stretch of I-394 was re-opened. The reasons for why the truck veered into oncoming traffic are still unclear.
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