Girl, 14, killed in Tri-State Tollway crash
DEERFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- A 14-year-old girl from Chicago was killed and seven others were injured in a crash on I-94 near Deerfield, Ill. She and her family were on their way home from Great America.
The SUV the girl was riding in blew a tire around 10:15 p.m. Sunday near the Half Day Road exit. The driver of the white 2002 Ford Explorer lost control of the SUV and struck a guardrail on the Tri-State Tollway, according to Illinois State Police.
"The vehicle swerved to the left and the overcorrected to the right," said Lt. Bob Meeder, Illinois State Police. "As it veered across all lanes, the vehicle hit the right shoulder and then hit the right guard rail."
Officials said all three, who were sitting in the third row of the vehicle, were not wearing seat belts.
"There shouldn't be more people in the vehicle than there are occupant restraints," Meeder said.
The seven other people in the SUV, which include the girl's parents, were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, though the two children remain in serious condition.
The driver of the semi was not hurt.
All eastbound lanes of the Tri-State Tollway were closed near the area during the investigation. They reopened around 2:15 a.m. Monday.
No one was cited in the crash.
