Pedestrian killed, 2 officers injured as driver crashes into multiple vehicles in Hillside: Police

HILLSIDE, Ill. (WLS) -- A pedestrian was killed and two police officers were injured by a vehicle Wednesday in the west suburbs, Hillside police said.

Investigators say it appears the driver may have suffered a medical episode.

Crews were removing crumpled vehicles hours after the area descended into chaos in west suburban Hillside.

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Police said the driver of a Genesis SUV, a 73-year-old man, crashed into a police squad car on Butterfield at Laverne in Hillside. Two officers were injured in the crash and are expected to be okay, police officials said.

After the initial crash, the driver continued down Butterfield, hitting other vehicles and apparently crossing multiple lanes of traffic, until it entered a parking lot of a Walgreens store.

"It was slow motion. It wasn't like it was going rapidly," witness Denise Roy said. "It was 'crunch, crunch, crunch,' you know, all the way through. It was crazy."

A pedestrian, a 78-year-old man, was entering the Walgreens parking lot when he was struck by the vehicle, Hillside police said.

"We do believe at this time that the driver of the vehicle had some type of medical incident or episode occur," Hillside Police Department Chief Dan Murphy said.

The officers who'd been struck in their vehicle ran to the Walgreens, despite back and neck injuries, and tried to save his life, officials said.

"One of them was performing CPR on our pedestrian," Chief Murphy said

The pedestrian was taken to Loyola Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. His identity was not yet known.

Police said at least eight people were taken to hospitals, most with minor injuries, including a 6-month-old baby. Witnesses said the baby was in red Hyundai and appeared to be okay.

As part of the investigation, Hillside police say they're reviewing several surveillance videos from the scene.