A child has died and another is in critical condition after a wrong-way driver caused a head-on collision in suburban Lake County.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to Green Bay Road in Beach Park just after 5 p.m. Tuesday for reports of a crash.
Deputies discovered that a Chevrolet Malibu had crashed into a GMC Sierra at the location. Witnesses told police the Malibu had been driving southbound, passing vehicles by swerving into the northbound lanes of the roadway when the crash occurred.
First responders found the driver of that Chevrolet in the front seat and had to extricate the 24-year-old man from the vehicle.
The man had apparently been driving with a 2-year-old boy in his lap, police said. That child was rushed to a Chicago hospital in critical condition.
The driver had then told police there were no other passengers in the vehicle, but firefighters discovered a 5-year-old boy who was trapped beneath debris in the backseat of the car. That child was taken to an area hospital, but was later pronounced dead, according to police.
The Chevrolet’s driver was taken to an area hospital for treatment, as was the driver of the GMC Sierra, police said.
Local
Neither child was in a child-safety seat at the time of the crash, according to police.
No further information on charges was immediately available.
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