2 killed, 2 seriously hurt when SUV strikes tree in Washington Park

A man and woman were killed, and two others were seriously injured, in a crash in Washington Park on the South Side Monday night.

A red SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed in the 600 block of East Morgan Drive when the driver side-swiped a silver Chrysler sedan, then veered off the road and struck a tree around 8:30 p.m., Chicago police and fire officials said.

One person was ejected from the SUV and three had to be extricated from the car, Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Donald Walker told reporters at the scene.

A male driver and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. They were identified as Edjuan Pool, 18, and Taylor Smith, 20, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Two men, 21 and 19, were removed from the back seat and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious to critical condition, Walter said.

The driver of the Chrysler refused transportation to a hospital.