The woman who was killed in a collision with two semi-trucks on Wednesday has been identified. The fatal truck crash involved four vehicles on Interstate 80. The Toyota being driven by the 60 year old Park Forest resident collided into the back of a semi-tractor which was stopped in traffic at 2:15 p.m. Her car was then struck by another semi and knocked into a Mazda Protégé in the far left lane. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at roughly 3 p.m.
Neither semi driver was injured in the accident. The driver of the Mazda was taken to an area hospital for minor injuries. While no conclusions have been reached regarding the cause of the accident, the driver of the second semi was cited by Illinois state police. The citations were for a failure to reduce his speed to avoid the initial accident, as well as for log book violations. It is not known whether the log book violations contributed in any way to the truck accident.
Construction is regular concern this time of year. Speeding, ignoring safety signs and the congestion caused by lane closings and construction vehicles are a common factor in Illinois accidents. In this case, a woman was killed when a traffic slowdown was not properly accounted for. The second semi’s failure to reduce speed led to a second and third collision. One woman lost her life and another suffered injuries as a result of negligent driving.
Source: The Herald-News, “Police blotter: Wilton Township crash kills Ind. man,” 20 May 2011
