Lake County Gazette

A driver involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Beach Park on Tuesday morning remains in critical condition at a local hospital, as reported by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

According to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, traffic crash investigators are examining the incident that occurred shortly before 8 a.m. at Sheridan Road and Michigan Boulevard in Beach Park. A preliminary investigation indicates that a GMC Acadia, driven by a 74-year-old man from Zion, was traveling northbound on North Sheridan Road when it struck the stop arm of a school bus loading passengers while stopped in the northbound lanes near Mawman Avenue. Fortunately, no injuries were reported on the bus, which had two children and the driver onboard. The children boarding the bus were unharmed.

The release further states that the Acadia continued northbound and sideswiped a Ford Focus driven by a 49-year-old man from Beach Park, causing it to collide with a utility pole. Subsequently, the Acadia struck a southbound Chevrolet Colorado driven by a 39-year-old man from Winthrop Harbor and then collided with a southbound Ford Flex driven by a 28-year-old woman from Fox Lake.

The sheriff's office confirmed that the driver of the Acadia was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. The drivers of both the Focus and Colorado were also taken to hospitals with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Flex did not sustain any injuries.

Authorities say that it is possible that the driver of the Acadia experienced a medical episode prior to the crashes. The incident is still under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.