Dan Ryan Expressway fiery crash leaves 1 dead, 1 injured

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A fiery truck became engulfed in flames after hitting a car and a wall and killing at least one person, Illinois State Police said.

The crash occurred at about 3:05 a.m. in the outbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway between 83rd and 87th streets, police said.

Both the truck and the car were in the left lane when they collided, crashed into the median and then burst into flames.

The truck driver managed to get out quickly and was taken to the hospital in fair condition. But authorities said someone in the vehicle died on the scene.

LIVE TRAFFIC: Check out the latest conditions on our live traffic map

Because of both the debris and flames, both directions of the CTA Red Line had to be shut down for hours forcing train commuters to scramble and figure out which shuttle buses to take to get to their destinations.

"Well when I just got here, I was informed what was going on," commuter Helen Wilhite said. "I was told I could call or get on the shuttle bus but the shuttle bus is not going my way so I'm late for work."

"I caught the train going to Oak Lawn for my doctor's appointment," commuter Philip Chatmon said. "Now I got to reschedule because I'm supposed to be there at 9 a.m.

"No contingency plan," commuter Angela Bender said. "People are waiting on the trains for over an hour at 95th. It's crazy."

By 9 a.m., some lanes were already opened on the Ryan to let traffic through

State police have not yet released the identity of that person killed in this crash.