A man was killed and three other people were injured in a five-vehicle crash Saturday morning on the Bishop Ford Freeway near south suburban South Holland.
The crash happened about 7:15 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 94 near 173rd Street, according to Illinois State Police.
Manuel Juarez, 51, of the Hegewisch neighborhood, was driving southbound on I-94 in a 2000 Chevrolet when he lost control after hitting a patch of ice and drove off the right side of the roadway, according to state police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. After Juarez and his passenger got out of the vehicle, a 46-year-old Chicago woman lost control of a southbound 2004 Jeep when she drove over the ice. The Jeep then struck the concrete median barrier and came to a stop partially on the right shoulder, at which point the passenger from the Chevrolet helped the Jeep’s driver out of the SUV.
The drivers of both vehicles remained on the right side of the roadway after the crash, and Juarez at some point began to walk on the right shoulder, state police said.
Meanwhile, a 2007 Chevrolet was traveling south on I-94 when the driver, a 63-year-old Chicago man, lost control and crashed into the median barrier, state police said. Juarez was then knocked off an overpass and onto the ground below.
Juarez was pronounced dead at the scene just before 8 a.m., authorities said. The cause of the fall remained under investigation.
An autopsy Sunday found that Juarez died of blunt force trauma caused by a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian. His death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.
A 36-year-old man from Cedar Lake, Indiana also drove his 2016 Ford over the ice, spun out and struck the median barrier and the 2007 Chevrolet, state police said. Additionally, a 2008 driven by a 27-year-old Sauk Village woman spun out on the ice and struck the barrier and the Jeep.
The drivers of the Jeep, the 2007 Chevrolet and the Audi were all taken for medical treatment, state police said. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
