A man was killed and another person was seriously injured in a three-car crash in Illinois, officials said.
The driver of a red Ford Fusion — later identified by the Romeoville Police Department as 20-year-old Johnathan Wenzel — crashed through a brick sound barrier off Interstate 55 in Romeoville at 4:32 a.m. local time on Thursday, Jan. 8, police said in a statement.
Wenzel, who was traveling west, came to a stop on the northbound side of the interstate. Two other vehicles were unable to avoid the stopped car and collided with it, according to officers.
An occupant in one of the other vehicles — identified only as the driver by FOX affiliate WFLD — was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital and later airlifted to University of Chicago Medicine Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Wenzel was pronounced dead at the scene.
Danielle Rivera, who lives nearby, described waking up to the scene and seeing the damage left behind.
“When I looked out the window and saw all the police presence, that’s when I woke up my husband,” Rivera told ABC affiliate WLS. “Seeing that huge hole, and seeing all the police officers, it was really heartbreaking.”
Twelve hours after the crash, “a large gaping hole remained in the brick sound barrier,” according to CBS Affiliate WBBM-TV.
Another neighbor told the outlet that “the curve where the crash happened has been a trouble area for drivers, and there have been a lot of people speeding.”
The crash caused major delays, prompting officials to shut down the area at 5:50 a.m. It reopened around 12:25 p.m., according to NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, and the investigation is ongoing. Officers said they believe speed may have been a contributing factor.
