A 37-year-old man died after rear-ending a semitrailer early Sunday on Interstate 57 near south suburban County Club Hills.
At 2:48 a.m., the driver of the truck, a 44-year-old Kentucky man, was traveling south in the far right lane of I-57 just north of Flossmoor Road when traffic slowed, according to Illinois State Police. After shifting into the far left lane of traffic, he came to a stop in front of the younger man’s 2013 Dodge.
The driver of the Dodge, Darnell L. Russell Jr., then failed to slow down and crashed into the rear of the semitrailer. Russell, who lived in Richton Park, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. An autopsy Monday found Russell died of his injuries in the crash and his death was ruled an accident.
All southbound lanes of I-57 were diverted onto Interstate 80 as troopers investigated, state police said. The lanes were later reopened at 8 a.m.
Drugs or alcohol aren’t suspected to have been a factor in the crash, state police said.
