Wadsworth, Ill. – Two people were killed Thursday morning in a three-vehicle crash on Route 173 in Wadsworth after a car drifted into the path of an oncoming semi-truck, authorities said.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and the Newport Township Fire Protection District were dispatched about 7:50 a.m. to a head-on crash on Route 173 west of North Kilbourne Road. Paramedics arrived first and determined the driver and passenger of one vehicle had died.
Investigators said a 2009 Acura sedan driven by a 51-year-old man from Stoughton, Wisconsin, was traveling eastbound on Route 173 when witnesses reported the driver appeared to be having difficulty maintaining his lane. As the Acura continued east, it drifted into the westbound lanes and struck a Freightliner semi-truck head-on, the sheriff’s office said.
The semi-truck was pulling a trailer loaded with about 35,000 pounds and was driven by a 25-year-old man from Evergreen Park, Illinois, authorities said. A Honda minivan also traveling eastbound on Route 173 then collided with the Acura following the initial impact, investigators said. The Honda was driven by a 54-year-old woman from Salem, Wisconsin.
The Acura’s driver and a front-seat passenger, a 45-year-old woman from Stoughton, were pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. The Honda driver was taken to a hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening. The Freightliner driver was uninjured and is cooperating with investigators.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded, and autopsies are being scheduled. The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.
