Lake County Gazette

A five-vehicle traffic accident on Thursday afternoon that left one person critically injured remains under investigation by Lake County Sheriff's Crash investigators. Deputies responded at approximately 6:05 p.m. on July 25 to Route 173 east of Route 45 in unincorporated Antioch for a traffic crash with injuries.

According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the preliminary investigation showed a Ford F-550 hauling an excavator westbound on Route 173 approaching Route 45. For unknown reasons, the 52-year-old Waukegan man driving the Ford failed to slow down for traffic stopped at the red light. The Ford struck the back of a Nissan Versa driven by a 23-year-old Savoy man. The Nissan then struck a stopped Volkswagen Atlas driven by a 47-year-old Twin Lakes, Wisconsin man. The Volkswagen was pushed into a Chevrolet Silverado driven by a 39-year-old Woodstock man. The Ford's momentum caused the Nissan to sideswipe a Kia K5 being driven by a 60-year-old Antioch man that was stopped in traffic.

The driver of the Nissan and his front seat passenger, a 25-year-old man from Libertyville, were transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries. A 24-year-old woman from Champaign sitting in the rear seat of the Nissan was transported via medical helicopter to the medical center with critical, life-threatening injuries, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office news release. The driver of the Ford was transported to the medical center with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Volkswagen was taken to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Drivers of the Chevrolet and Kia were uninjured.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's office Technical Crash Investigation unit, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office news release.