9 cars involved in crash on icy Edens Expressway, no serious injuries

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Icy conditions lead to a chain-reaction crash on Chicago's Far North Side Monday night.

Nine cars were involved in the crash at the Peterson Avenue overpass at the Edens Expressway.

Multiple drivers say they hit their brakes but slid on the ice into the cars in front of them.

The roadway was salted after the crash. Nobody was seriously hurt.

Snow showers are expected to continue into Monday night with gusty winds reducing some visibility. While snowfall is likely to stay north of Chicago, untreated surfaces are subject to freeze over because of the cold.

Monday started with temperatures in the mid-40s near O'Hare, but by mid-morning temperatures were dropping and rain began to freeze. By 1:30 p.m., snow had shifted largely north of I-88/290, with the heaviest snowfall over the north tier of Illinois counties, particularly northern Lake County.

Marengo, Ill., reported 1.5 inches of snow as of noon, while Mendota, Ill., reported 1.2 inches. O'Hare reported half an inch of snow, as did Midway.

For a brief time snow was falling at an inch per hour in suburban Crystal Lake. Fortunately, temperatures were around or above freezing when the snow fell, so many roads remained in relatively good shape.

"It was a little scary going down hills, but it's not too bad, the roads are kind of slushy but they've been out salting all day so it was alright," said Sara Callahan, a motorist.

Though only a couple inches fell, it is wet, heavy snow.

"It's heavy and wet and it is hard to move," said Lisa Liparoto, a snow shoveler. "That's why I'm trying to get it up now, so that it doesn't ice down."

A bus slid on the State Street Bridge near Wacker Drive in the Loop Monday evening.

No weather-related delays have been reported on Chicago-area expressways so far. As a precaution, IDOT has deployed more than half of its salt trucks to salt expressways in preparation for ice mainly in the north suburbs.

The following counties have weather-related advisories:

-Winter weather advisory until 5 a.m. Tuesday for Menominee county in Illinois

-Winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Tuesday for Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, Outagamie counties in Wisconsin

-Wind advisories until 9 p.m. for Genesee, Lapeer, Sanilac, St. Clair counties in Indiana