1 dead, 3 seriously hurt in Lake Shore Drive crash

Alcohol may have been a factor in wrong-way crash on Lake Shore Drive that left a man dead and three other people seriously injured on the South Side, police said.

A 27-year-old man drove a 2001 Nissan Sentra south into the northbound lanes of the 3900 block of South Lake Shore Drive about 2:40 a.m., authorities said.

The Nissan tried to swerve left to avoid a head-on collision with a 2011 Ford Fusion, police said. Instead, it side-swiped the Ford, which was carrying two 23-year-old women , police said. The Nissan then struck a Chevrolet Impala with four people inside, police said.

The driver of the Nissan, Jose Quintuna, 27, of the 4200 block of North Springfield, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

The 23-year-old man driving the Chevrolet and a 21-year-old woman in the front passenger seat were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition, police said. A 22-year-old woman in the back seat of the vehicle was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to fire and police officials.

The women in the Ford declined medical treatment, as did a 25-year-old man riding in the back seat of the Chevrolet.

Alcohol may have factored into the crash, and investigators were awaiting toxicology results from an autopsy, police said.

The northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive were closed for more than four hours after the crash, but were reopened as of 7:15 a.m., police said.

The police Major Accident Investigation Unit is looking into the crash.