Five people, including two Chicago police officers and an Illinois State trooper, were taken to hospitals after two collisions involving police cars early Friday on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
At 2:11 a.m., an Illinois State Police squad car rear-ended a passenger vehicle near 95th Street and both vehicles became disabled in the lane of traffic, said ISP Trooper Melissa Albert-Lopez.
A state police squad car and a Chicago police squad car activated their emergency lights and rushed to that scene, stopping behind it to alert other motorists, said Albert-Lopez.
A short while later, another passenger vehicle failed to move over for the initial crash and emergency vehicles and rear-ended the Chicago police car, pushing it into the back of the assisting ISP squad car. Both police vehicles were unoccupied during the second crash, Albert-Lopez said.
One state trooper and two Chicago officers were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center initially in serious condition, according to Chicago Fire Chief Juan Hernandez.
Two other people, including the driver of the car that was rear-ended by the trooper’s car, were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition, said Hernandez. A sixth person declined to be taken to a hospital, he said.
According to Albert-Lopez, the injuries were not life-threatening.
“It was wet and cold and slippery out there,” Hernandez said.
There was no word on citations.
