2 dead, 3 injured in Bishop Ford Freeway crash; Southbound lanes reopened

DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Two people were killed and three others injured after a fiery crash Saturday on the Bishop Ford Freeway in south suburban Dolton, Illinois State Police said.

A semitrailer, a Chevrolet Impala and a Jeep SUV were involved in a crash about 2:23 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-94 at Sibley Boulevard, police said. The semitrailer veered off the roadway and crashed into the concrete bridge support at Sibley Blvd., where it went up in flames.

Both the driver and passenger of the semitrailer were pronounced dead on the scene, police said. Their ages and genders were not immediately known.

The drivers of the Impala and the Jeep, a 19-year-old man and 24-year-old man, respectively, were both taken to to St. Margaret's Hospital in Hammond, Indiana with non-life threatening injuries, police said. A passenger in the Jeep was also transported.

It is unknown if the drivers or passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, police said.

Witnesses stopped to help assist people get out of an SUV, but were not able to assist anyone in the semi-truck because it was engulfed in flames, police said.

"From what I was told, the guy in the semi-truck was screaming. There was a young lady who saw it happen, she said they were trying to help the guy out the semi-truck, but it exploded and there wasn't anything they could do. They were trying to help him, it was horrible," said Chey Walker, who witnessed the crash.

The Dolton Fire Department worked to put out the vehicle engulfed in flames.

The outbound lanes of the Bishop Ford reopened Saturday late afternoon. They were closed for nearly 14 hours as Illinois State Police investigated the crash.