17-year-old NW Side girl killed in Bartlett crash

A teenage girl from the Northwest Side was killed in a head-on crash Friday afternoon in northwest suburban Bartlett.

A gray Chevrolet S-10 pickup was headed south on Illinois Route 59 about 2 p.m. when it crossed into the northbound lanes in the intersection with West Bartlett Road and collided head-on with a northbound box truck, according to a statement from Bartlett police.

The backseat passenger in the pickup, 17-year-old Susanna Kaleta, was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, where she was pronounced dead at 3:59 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Saturday found Kaleta died of multiple injuries suffered in the crash. She lived in the Belmont Central neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side.

The pickup’s driver and front-seat passenger, both adults, suffered serious injuries, police said. The driver was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove while the passenger was taken by ambulance to Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin.

The driver of the box truck was also taken to St. Alexius Medical Center with serious injuries, police said. There were no other occupants in the truck.

The Major Case Assistance Team and the Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team are investigating the cause of the crash, according to police. No citations had been issued in connection with the crash Saturday.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Bartlett Police Department at (630) 837-0846.