A nine-vehicle car crash near the intersection of Wells Street and Congress Parkway at 4:20 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 27 left one motorist dead and nearly a dozen others with varying injuries. Chicago police have since identified the 35-year-old decedent as having most recently worked as a private chef for a basketball player with the Chicago Bulls. Before that, he’d worked at several downtown eateries as a chef.
Illinois State Police officers responsible for working the crash scene were cited as saying that a 56-year-old male driver of the Mercedes had instigated the domino effect crash. They acknowledged that they suspected he’d had a medical emergency just as he was preparing to leave the Eisenhower Expressway.
The man’s health situation apparently caused his vehicle to accelerate in speed. He soon plowed into the rear of the decedent’s Cadillac. The Mercedes’ owner didn’t stop after crashing into the Cadillac owner, though. He continued on, crashing into another eight cars in front of him.
Emergency responders, who were dispatched to the crash scene, quickly determined that at least four of the motorists had suffered either serious or critical injuries. Two others were described as having been in fair condition. Only one motorists suffered relatively minor injuries. All were transported to Stoger, Northwestern Memorial and Rush University Hospitals.
It’s unclear what type of medical events the Mercedes’ owner may have had.
Police kept the portion of the expressway closest to where this accident occurred closed for more than seven hours as they continued to investigate the crash.
In learning more details surrounding your loved one’s fatal accident, an attorney may advise you of your right to file a wrongful death claim to recover lost future wages and funeral costs.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Man killed in South Loop pile-up had been chef at downtown restaurants,” Deanese Williams-Harris and Jeremy Gorner, Jan. 29, 2018