Friday, March 6, 2015

SEMI-TRUCK CRASHES INTO A STOPPED CAR AND CAUSES A FIRE THAT DESTROYED THE CAB AND THE CAR IN LONG GROVE, ILLINOIS




MARCH 6, 2015


LONG GROVE, ILLINOIS


No one was hurt when an 18-wheel rig crashed into the back of a car Friday morning in Long Grove, causing a vehicular fire.


According to reports from Long Grove Fire Protection District deputy chief Marc Small and Lake County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Curtis Gregory, a man was driving his car north on Illinois Route 83 between Aptakisic and Hilltop roads shortly before 5 a.m. when the vehicle suddenly lost power.


There is little curbside to pull over onto in that area, so the man turned his hazard flashers on and left his vehicle, but it was obstructing its lane. As the “Hilltop Road” title indicates, this area is at the top of a hill, which obstructs oncoming vehicles’ visibility.


The car battery’s remaining power drained and the flashers’ light dwindled to nothing, Gregory said. Within minutes, a tractor-trailer crashed into the rear of the car and drove over its trunk.


Unharmed, the truck driver stayed in his cab and called 911, Small wrote in his report—until flames started seeping out of his engine compartment. The fire spread quickly to the crushed car underneath.


“The car and cab of the truck were both destroyed by fire,” Small wrote.

Firefighters used 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames. Gregory noted that the water “froze instantly” on Route 83’s northbound lanes, forcing deputies to close it off to traffic until salt trucks could arrive.


Paramedics examined the two drivers, who declined treatment. Gregory said he could not determine what had caused the car to stop in the street.