Officials say alcohol played a role in an early morning fatal crash that
occurred when a South Side man drove the wrong way on the Bishop Ford Freeway,
closing all inbound lanes for five hours, Illinois State police
said.
State police had received several calls about a car headed south in
the northbound lanes just before the 4:30 a.m. collision near 122nd Street,
authorities said.
The 24-year-old driver's black 1998 Chevy Malibu hit a
black 2003 Honda Accord driven by a 54-year-old man, who then careened into a
tanker truck, according to State Police Sgt. Jason LoCoco. The Accord came to
rest in the left lane of the freeway, he said.
Ronnie Head of
Dolton
was pronounced dead at 5:34 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in
Oak
Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Head worked for the Chicago Tribune for 27 years as a press operator at the
paper's plant at the Freedom Center, according to Becky Brubaker, senior vice
president for manufacturing and distribution. Head was on his way to his job,
she said.
He was married and had two grown children, said Brubaker.
Head's positive attitude and work ethic will be greatly missed, said
Brubaker.
"He was an exemplary man, he was upbeat and always saw things
positively. He saw a silver lining in every cloud," said Brubaker. "He was
reliable, just a terrific man. It's very tragic, you hear about this news and
you just don't think about it being one of your work family."
The wrong-way driver was in critical condition at Christ, officials said. His
name was not released. The driver of the tanker, a 28-year-old Tennessee man,
was not injured. The tanker was not carrying hazardous material, LoCoco
said.
Officials said alcohol played a factor in the crash but no charges
have been filed yet, according to LoCoco. Authorities closed the inbound lanes
while they investigated the scene and did not reopen them until 9:25
a.m.
While on the scene, state troopers were alerted to another motorist
driving the wrong way several miles south. A trooper was able to stop that
driver near 130th Street without incident, officials said.
The collision
was the second fatal accident on the Bishop Ford this morning. Since December,
Chicago area roadways have experienced at least a half-dozen wrong-way driving
incidents resulting in injures and deaths.
The
Illinois
Department of Transportation is expected to release a study on wrong-way
drivers later this year.
